Breaking Dawn, my way
by composingmythoughts
Summary: My own personal interpretation of what happens after the gas station events of the beginning of Breaking Dawn. Rated T just to be on the safe side, I guess. Chapters 1-15 were written BEFORE Breaking Dawn came out.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: I'm not Stephenie Meyer, I don't own any of the Twilight books, I just borrowed her characters to describe my own personal version of how Breaking Dawn will play out.

Chapter One

After I filled up my tank and the picture taking affair subsided, I headed back to the Cullen's. I really hated parking this conspicuous vehicle anywhere people would see it – like I really needed anymore attention at the moment. Young marriage, expensive new car, Ivy League school plans (I could only imagine how much money Edward had bribed the admissions officers with, and I'm sure the entire town was speculating the same thing); I didn't really need anyone else staring at me.

I pulled up in front of the house to find Edward outside on the porch already awaiting my arrival. Perhaps Alice had already informed him of my decision to stop by, but it was more likely that he could hear me grinding the gears from miles away. I sighed. The engine was always stalling on me, and Edward was debating having Rosalie do a little engine work to make it an automatic for me. Rosalie had claimed this would be a crime against mechanics and vehemently refused, but Edward wasn't worried, assuring me that he had many methods of persuasion.

In the blink of an eye, Edward was at my side, pulling my door open and grabbing my hand in his. "Welcome home," he purred in my ear, smiling. Naturally my heart rate about tripled in response to his voice. "Oh Bella," he sighed, "how can you still react so strongly after all this time? My very presence is going to be the death of you!"

"Yeah, if your car doesn't do it first," I mumble, closing my door. I said it as quietly as I was capable of, but I had no doubt that he'd still heard it.

"Oh no, that's _your_ car my dear. And there's no way it could kill you," he retorted.

"Be serious Edward, I almost crash every time I back out of the driveway." He laughed. "The missile-proof glass might save me from terrorist attacks, but who knows how it'll fare against a particularly stubborn tree?"

Edward wasn't laughing anymore. He stopped short of the front steps, and his firm grasp on my hand caused me to awkwardly trip and fall to the ground. Naturally I never got that far, and he caught me and leaned me gently back on my feet.

"Thanks," I mumbled again, flushing scarlet.

Fortunately, Edward was smirking again, but he looked – was it possible? – _embarrassed_. "So, um, missile-proof, you say?" he asked, trying to sound casual. "Where would you get an idea like that?" I refused to meet his eyes; I knew he would be trying to dazzle me into forgetting about his bit of blatant over-protectiveness.

"Some guys at the gas station recognized the car," a sweet soprano voice sang from the door way. I looked up to see Alice glaring at Edward with a scornful expression. "I _told_ you not to get her that one; it's not even available in Europe. How is Bella supposed to explain having it in her possession? People will think she was the leader of a jewel heist!" she fumed.

Edward laughed, but my heart fluttered. Is that what people were saying? Alice would certainly be the one to know if they were. I shuddered at the thought, and Edward tightened his grip around my waist in response. Alice seemed to read my expression, and promptly added, "no one is saying that… yet." She glared back at Edward.

"Sorry," Edward grinned sheepishly. "I just got a little carried away. I just want you to be safe."

"Yeah, well I don't think the _President_ gets this much security, Edward," I said with a laugh, leaning back and balancing myself on the porch rail. "I'll be fine, just give me a _little_ credit."

Edward began to laugh again, and it actually seemed like he might be willing to give in. However, as my luck would have it, Jasper suddenly dove onto the porch, trying to pull a sneak attack on Alice. Naturally, she knew it was coming, and danced gracefully out of his way as he pounced. Unfortunately, I have _none_ of Alice's grace, and Jasper went flying into me instead. The force of his dive knocked me backwards off my perch on the railing, and sent me flying into Esme's tulip bed. Edward ran to my aid, pulling me swiftly to my feed while Jasper apologized profusely. Emmett seemed to appear out of no where, as he so often did when I was embarrassing myself, and he roared with laughter.

"When – how did you – what?" I stammered, wondering about Emmett's sudden appearance, but he just laughed.

"Oh you really are too funny Bella!" he laughed, patting me a little too hard on the back so that my teeth rattled in my head.

I continued to scowl while Edward wrapped both his arms around my waist protectively from behind. "That, my dear," he began, planting soft kisses along my jaw line, "is why the missile-proof car stays."

Everyone roared with laughter, and I tried to convey to his my disapproval, but he just dazzled me with his brilliant topaz eyes, and I forgot what I'd been scowling about. With a surrendering sigh, I grabbed Edward's hand and headed into the house.

--

The next few days leading up to the wedding flew by in a blur; one moment was incomprehensible from the next. It seemed like I always had a million things to be doing at any given time, yet I'd still get restless if I was allowed so much as a free moment to myself. Because the wedding was planned so quickly, there was so much to see to. I was so lucky to have Alice, I realized; not only did she live and breathe (well, metaphorically, at least) for this sort of thing, but her unique vampire attributes made the planning and execution a breeze. On top of all of this, sleep wasn't something Alice need concern herself with, and at one point, she'd spent literally a week straight making phone calls and planning every last detail. There were still some she insisted I give my two cents on, however, and that's what brought her to our little house one morning at the crack of dawn, just two days before the wedding.

"Good morning all!" she called cheerfully, busting through the door into Charlie's tiny kitchen, arms full of bags. In her haste, she miscalculated her strength and sent the door flying into the wall behind it with such force that the handle left a hole. My eyes automatically darted to Charlie, waiting for that all-too-familiar vein to bulge from his forehead, but he seemed not to have noticed. A smile spread across his face instead.

"Why good morning Alice!" he beamed as she dropped her things all over the remaining space on the kitchen table that wasn't being occupied by our breakfast. The thud sent my glass of orange juice swaying ominously, so I shot out a hand to steady it. In true Bella fashion, I managed to knock it over instead. Charlie gasped and reached for the bags to protect them, but Alice had already scooped them up and removed them from harms way.

"Should've seen that coming," Alice said playfully, while flashing me a knowing smile. Charlie must've chalked this comment up to my disabling clumsiness, but I knew Alice would probably just be keeping dangerously close tabs on my future for a while.

"Yeah, with Bells, an accident is always to be expected," Charlie teased, ruffling my hair playfully. I might've been offended if his comment hadn't been so painfully true; I was an accident magnet.

"Yeah, yeah," I sighed, standing up to grab a rag to clean what remained of my orange juice, "so what have you got there Alice?"

"Well," she began, casting a furtive look at Charlie, "I've got some uh, napkins, doilies… things of that nature for you to take a look at."

As soon as Charlie realized the new direction the conversation had taken, he cringed. It was true, he had finally accepted Edward with more grace and courtesy than I'd thought him to be capable of, but he was still human, and he was still "losing his little girl" as he put it. I thought back on his previous comment about feeling like he'd be losing me soon, and felt a wave of guilt. Because of all of this, his patience for the whole wedding affair tended to ware thin at times.

"Well girls, I'm just gonna – I've got a thing … with this guy… from the…" Charlie started, each excuse getting caught in his throat and trailing off unfinished. He was about as good with the emotional stuff as I was; the only difference was that his eyes didn't well up with tears every other second as mine so often did.

"Sure dad," I replied softly, a wave of guilt for the pain I was causing him washing over me. "Go do your thing."

Charlie grabbed his keys from the hook next to the door and started to leave, but stopped in the doorway. "Bells," he began with a helpless expression on his face. Clearly, he was trying to have a "moment" with me, so I cut him off quickly.

"It's okay, dad," I insisted with a smile. I didn't want him to feel guilty for trying so hard to have nothing to do with my wedding plans. I just wanted him to be happy.

"Well, I'll talk to you later then," he said with a nod.

"Bye Charlie," Alice called with a gentle smile, and he nodded again, and then retreated.

I felt a fresh pang of guilt as I heard his cruiser door close and the crunch of his tires on the gravel as he backed out of the driveway. Maybe this wedding was a bad idea; the thought of me leaving him for Edward was killing him, and I didn't want to leave him all alone again. Alice seemed to sense my thoughts, because she quickly spoke before I could continue to think.

"Bella, he'll be okay!" she tried to reassure me. "Yes, he's a little upset about losing you, but he's more _happy _than anything!"

"He… is?" I said, fighting back the tears that were threatening to spill.

"Yes," Alice insisted. "Edward was eavesdropping on his thoughts one night, if you must know, and he's elated to see you so happy again. He might not have forgiven Edward for what he did to you just yet, but he's learned to see beyond that, and to realize how truly happy you are now. He couldn't imagine getting in the way of this now; he's just a little sad that the date is approaching so soon."

My heart slowed a bit. Even if I didn't necessarily approve of Edward reading my father's mind without my knowledge, I was encouraged by the fact that Charlie really did want to see me happy with Edward.

"So, you had some samples, then?" I gave in with a small smile.

"YES!" Alice exclaimed, enthusiastic again. She pulled out countless doilies and napkins, strewing them all across the table and countertops.

"Oh Alice," I gulped, eyes bulging. There were so many choices, and I still didn't really want to have such a huge wedding. Being the center of attention was never good for me, what with my uncanny ability to trip over a particularly long blade of grass. Suddenly, it donned on me that the wedding was TWO days away … if Alice still had me making decisions, how could she possibly get everything made and ready in time?

"Oh Alice," I started to voice my concern, but she cut me off.

"Oh Bella, Bella, do you honestly think that I would let a single detail of your wedding be unresolved? I've already had the appropriate number of each style printed, so you say the word, and they're already ready to go!" she exclaimed cheerfully.

I was stunned. I glanced around my kitchen, and there were hundreds of designs. "Alice!" I cried, "That must've been so-"

"-expensive, yes, don't worry about it, you said you'd give me free reign!" she pouted.

"Yes, but why waste so much money on _me_?"

"I wanted it to be PERFECT!"

I could see that she was going to sulk if I didn't give in, so I opted not to waste any more of my time. "Okay," I sighed. I closed my eyes, grabbed a few random designs, and held them up. "I like these."

"Oh Bella," she pouted some more. "Why can't you take this seriously, and just decide?"

"I know you want me to have a say in all of this, but honestly Alice, it doesn't matter to me. The only detail I'm going to insist on is that it's Edward standing up there on the altar, and not Mike Newton."

Alice giggled. "Okay, in that case, forget I asked," she said, scooping up all the samples. "This is going to be the most perfect, wonderful wedding you've ever been to!" she promised.

"Well, seeing as I've never been to a wedding before, you haven't even got any competition," I laughed.

Just then, Edward arrived.

"Please tell me I didn't just hear the words 'altar' and 'Mike Newton' in the same sentence," Edward cringed, wrapping his arms around my waist and planting a kiss softly on my hair.

"Yes, you did," I admitted, "but I was only insisted he _not_ be there."

"Ah, well okay then," Edward said, pacified. Then he went silent for a moment, with a thoughtful look on his face. He looked like an angel.

"So Alice," I began, but stopped suddenly. Her eyes glazed over, and I could tell she was having a vision. "Alice!" I called in alarm, but Edward shushed me. Quickly, Alice came back out of it and glared at Edward.

"Oh Edward, how _COULD_ you?!" she shouted at him.

I was so confused. What was going on? I opened my mouth to ask, but Edward held a finger to my lips.

"Relax, it was just a joke," he laughed. Alice fumed even more, then scooped up her samples, and headed for the door.

"I'll see you later Bella," she spat, still glaring at Edward intensely.

"Alice, it was a joke!" he called after her, laughing as she stomped her way out the door.

"What just _happened?_" I asked, incredulous. I hated not having some sort of power like them; I hated not knowing what was going on.

Edward laughed, and tightened his grip on me. "Well, I was determined to take you and run away to have a private wedding in Vegas for about 30 seconds," he explained. "Alice saw the vision, and got angry that we were planning to leave her out of it. I only had to be determined for about three seconds in order for her to see it."

"Oh Edward, that's terrible!" I laughed. "Poor Alice, she's not going to let that go easily."

"Hey, she'd better let it go, if you're really planning to let her control every tiny, insignificant detail of this wedding."

"Like I said, the only detail I care about is that it's you standing there waiting for me at the other end," I said with a smile. He bent his head and softly planted a kiss on my lips.

"Of course, it'll always be me," he said softly in my ear. "I'll always be here, no matter what. I couldn't imagine trying to leave you now."

"Two days," I sighed.

"Two days," Edward repeated, smiling. "In two days you'll be Mrs. Edward Cullen."

"Isabella Marie Cullen," I said, staring off into space, thinking about my new name. It was still difficult to believe that in two short days, I'd be married with a husband and a new house.

"That sounds perfect," Edward purred. "Bella Cullen definitely has a ring to it."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer**: I'm not Stephenie Meyer, I don't own any of the Twilight books, I just borrowed her characters to describe my own personal version of how Breaking Dawn will play out.

Chapter Two

The next day, Edward and I decided to take the afternoon and spend it in his meadow. It was so beautiful; I didn't think I could ever imagine anything in my wildest dreams that could compare. Edward's presence magnified the charm of the field exponentially, so naturally I found it to be the most beautiful place on Earth. Then again, I feel like Edward's presence could make a trailer park have the exact same charm.

We had been lying there for about half an hour of almost exclusive silence when Edward finally said, "You know how it bothers me when I don't know what you're thinking … a little insight, please."

I sighed and rolled over on my side to look into his beautiful eyes. They were black today, and I wondered to myself when the last time he'd been hunting was. Lately, he had taken to _never_ leaving my side, and I couldn't even remember the last time we'd spent more than an hour apart.

"When was the last time you hunted," I asked, reaching out to trace my finger along the dark shadows under his eyes, but he could tell this wasn't what had been on my mind.

"I'm going tonight," he said simply.

This caught me off guard. "Tonight?" I asked. "But, the wedding is tomorrow!"

"Right, and the groom isn't supposed to see the bride the night before, or the morning of the wedding until she's walking up the aisle."

"Oh. I just… I assumed you'd be with me tonight." It was slightly heartbreaking; with such a big day ahead, I didn't want to waste a minute without Edward. I could see the hurt in his eyes at this statement, but he held his ground.

"Bella my love, it's only one night. You can make it one night. Please let me hold on to these simple traditions, it means a lot to me. I'm selfish that way," he added with a grin.

"I thought you said that if you were going to hell, you might as well do it thoroughly," I said playfully.

"Ah yes, but remember how pure we are, with our untainted virtues?" I laughed at this. "One night," he repeated. "I could have Emmett come keep you company instead, if you think that'd be better than being alone?"

"Oh god… I'll take the Volturi instead!" We both laughed. "So one night."

"Just one night."

"I can handle one night," _I think_, I thought to myself.

"That's my girl," he said with a smile, and lightly kissed me. "Now that was an excellent attempt to mentally derail me, but I haven't forgotten. What's on your mind, why are you so preoccupied today?"

My mind fluttered back to my previous thoughts, and I felt a pang through my heart. I had been thinking about Jacob. I wished I'd invited him to the wedding after all, even if there wasn't a chance he'd show. I felt like I was doing my best friend a dis-service by not asking him to be there. Edward seemed to sense the direction my thoughts had taken.

"Oh," he said quietly, "you've been thinking about _him_?"

"He's still missing, Edward," I mumbled, feeling my eyes brimming with tears that I fought so hard to keep back. I'd already promised myself I'd never make Edward see me cry for Jacob again; I couldn't hurt him like that.

"Oh Bella," he sighed, tightening his arms around me and leaning his head softly on top of mine, "I know how much you miss him. I know how… hard it is for you, to have him just disappear from your life. He meant as much to you as … as I do." Edward paused for a moment, and a wave of panic washed over me.

"No, Edward, no. He meant a lot to me, yes, but he could _never_ mean as much to me as you do. He helped me when… well, he helped me a lot." Edward cringed, remembering the time I was too terrified to speak of. He'd seen how broken I was through Jacob's memory, when he was unkind enough to think of all of my weakest moments, knowing Edward would be sifting through his thoughts. "But," I insisted, "You're so important to me, you're my _life_. Jacob was like, well, I often thought of him as my personal sun. He kept me warm, and helped me to see the light. But I don't need the sun anymore, Edward. When I'm with you, I don't need him to keep me warm, or to be the light. I just need you. With you, there's no need to shine light in those dark corners, because when you're there, I know there's nothing I could ever be afraid of."

Edward was silent for a long moment, thinking over all that I'd just said. I took the moment to continue. "Do you remember when you told me that I was like a meteor shooting across the sky, and you were blinded by the light? Well, I feel the same. You're _my_ meteor Edward. You give me hope and a reason for everything. With the sun, you can't see the stars. I'd rather the sun be gone forever and watch for the chance of a meteor than to live in the sun and never experience that shooting star."

"Bella," he said softly in my ear, and for a moment I was afraid he would want to put everything on hold until I had things resolved in my mind. However, after a pause in which he stroked my hair and lightly pressed a kiss to my lips, he said, "I love you. I've told you before that you are my life now." He leaned so that his lips were pressed against my ear, and whispered barely audibly, "this meteor isn't going anywhere."

I tried to hug him even closer to me, but we were already so tightly together that it was impossible. "I've never felt so human," Edward spoke softly after a moment. "I didn't realize, I didn't think it was _possible_, to feel so strongly and passionately about someone. I always saw the rest of my family together, Jasper and Alice, Rosalie and Emmett, Esme and Carlisle. I thought their love was sweet, and I thought I understood it. To me, it was an excuse to not be alone, to find someone to love, and cling to them. I thought I was complete in myself, and didn't think I'd ever need someone the way they needed each other. I never knew what I was missing."

"Then you walked into the cafeteria." I laughed, remembering that first day when I saw him across the room. "You dazzled me from the first second I saw you," I admitted, a blush rising in my cheeks. He moved a hand to my face to feel the warmth that had risen there.

"I'll miss this," he sighed, referring to the blush on my cheeks. "This won't happen anymore once you've changed."

"The ability to blush is something I'd gladly trade for an eternity with you," I chuckled. "In fact, I'll be glad to be able to hide my embarrassment just a little bit easier. Emmett will have a harder time making fun of me if he doesn't _realize_ I'm embarrassed."

"Oh, I wouldn't count on that," Edward laughed.

Once the laughter had subsided, we lied in the field in silence for a few minutes. After a few moments, I spoke again.

"Edward?" I asked softly, leaning up on one elbow to look at him. He mirrored my movements, and looked deeply into my eyes.

"Yes love?"

"I just wanted to … thank you."

"Thank me?"

"Yeah, just… you've done so much for me you've… _killed_ … for me, you've spent every moment for the past couple years making sure no harm could ever come my way… I don't know how you could ever think that there isn't something better for you after, after _this, _when you've been such a _saint_ for me."

"Bella," he began, a little sternly, but I cut him off.

"No Edward, I don't want to hear it," I said simply. "I don't want to hear your arguments for why you're not a good person, how you're a monster and undeserving, because, from the moment you stepped into my life, you've saved me. Meeting you was nothing short of a miracle, and every day you surprise me with how wonderful, caring, and loving you can be. So don't try to tell me you're a monster, because the only thing I see when I look at you is an angel."

"You're too kind to me, Bella," he sighed, but I wouldn't let him continue any further.

"I told you, I don't want to hear it!" I scorned playfully, and he chuckled. I seized the moment to roll myself on top of him, and kissed him passionately. "I love you Edward, and I plan to love you for the rest of time."

"And then some," he added, and kissed me back. For the moment, all thought of Jacob was lost, and I could think of nothing at the moment but Edward, and our future. I spent the rest of the afternoon testing his limits, seeing how far I could go without making him lose control, and taking solace in the fact that very soon, he wouldn't need to control himself around me. That soon, I wouldn't be so breakable anymore.

--

That evening it was strange to be going to bed without Edward. He had stayed late to cuddle with me for a while and to sing me my lullaby, but he insisted on both of us keeping our "virtue," and he left as soon as I began to nod off. "Goodnight love," he purred in my ear, stepping towards the window. "I'll see you in the morning." He kissed me softly on the lips, and was out the window and gone before I could begin to sit up.

I watched the window for a long moment, hoping he'd change his mind, bound back through it, and curl up beside me. When it was clear he really wouldn't be coming back tonight, I sighed and rolled back over, but left my window ajar just in case. I lied awake for what felt like hours, but was probably really only a couple of minutes, thinking about the day to come. My dress, the decorations, the ceremony, the guests; there was so much to think about for such a short event. I was lying there, imagining what Edward would look like in his tuxedo with a small rose in the lapel (the only detail of the entire affair I had insisted upon). Just then, I heard a voice call to me in the darkness, but it wasn't the voice I was expecting.

"Bella, honey?" a rough voice said, and I immediately stiffened and bolted upright. It was a voice I missed, that I hadn't heard in so long, and one that should _not_ be in my bedroom tonight.

"Jacob?!" I whispered at loudly as possible. I didn't want to wake Charlie, but it was hard to contain my surprise.

"Yeah, it's me," he chuckled, and came to sit on the edge of my bed.

"What are you _doing_ here?" I asked. "No, wait; better yet," I amended, "Where have you been? What have you been doing? Why did you leave? Charlie's had half the state of Washington looking out for you! I've missed you so much."

"I couldn't – I needed to – I'm… I'm sorry," he finished weakly, and I understood. Í was the reason he needed to leave. I painfully recalled that day up on the mountain, when he had overheard my discussion with Edward; when I unintentionally informed him of my impending wedding and broke his heart into a thousand pieces.

"Oh Jake," I started helplessly, knowing there was no way I could possibly convey the depth of my sincerity. "I never meant to hurt you. I didn't know… I'm sorry," I finished weakly.

"It's not your fault. Well I mean, it _is_ your fault, for loving that, _thing_, but… you can't help it," he sighed, pain evident in his voice. I didn't even know how to respond to that anymore. I had defended Edward to him so many times, and we just ended up going around in circles over and over. I couldn't change his mind, and he couldn't change mine.

"Jake, I'm sorry," I said again, "but I love Edward. He did… did leave me," I admitted, practically choking on the words, "but that was a mistake. He knows that now, and I've _always_ known that. I love him with my whole heart, and I always will. Our wedding is tomorrow."

Suddenly, Jacob's eyes lit up. "I know! I know its tomorrow, and that's exactly why I'm here!"

"Charlie!" I hissed under my breath.

"Yeah, yeah," he said patronizingly, lowering his voice, "though I honestly don't think Charlie would mind if he caught me in here instead of that bloodsucker."

"Jacob Black," I said sternly, reminding him with my tone that I didn't appreciate his use of that word, and that I wasn't going to tolerate it.

"Okay, _sorry,_" he emphasized the word, but I could tell he didn't really mean it. "The thing is, like you said, the wedding is tomorrow, and it's my, well, my last chance."

"Oh Jake," I said, my eyes growing wide as the reason he was here in my room tonight dawned on me. He knew this would be the one night Edward wouldn't be staying with me, and he'd come to have his final say.

"Bella, please listen to me," he pleaded, and I heard his voice break. "I could make you so happy, so much happier than him! You wouldn't have to _die_ to be with me, you could still be warm, clumsy, adorable, lovable Bella! You won't be that way once you're _his_." I could tell this little speech was well rehearsed, and it was killing him to finally be delivering it. "He's going to change you," he pressed on. "He's going to take away the Bella I love, and replace her with one made of stone. And what about Charlie? How are you going to explain it to him? Fake your own death? Go away for college and make excuses to never come home to visit? You can't keep making up excuses for the rest of your life, Bella, this is a choice you're going to have to make, and by doing it you're going to hurt _everyone_ you know and love. You won't be able to come back, you'll never see Charlie or Renee again, and you'll never see _me_ again." His voice trailed off and cracked again on those final words.

"But, but Jake, you'll know the truth!" I pleaded with him. "I won't have to hide from you! I'm still sorting out how I'll say goodbye to my parents, but there's no reason I couldn't see you anymore!"

"My friend won't be there to see," he said coldly.

"Jake that's absurd! Sure, I'll have to stay away for a little while, until I'm under control," I explained, "but there's no reason we can't still talk. I _can't_ go the rest of my life without Edward, and I don't _want_ to go the rest of my life without you! It would kill me if we couldn't be friends."

"No, that won't kill you… because he'll have already killed you."

"Jake," I pleaded, my eyes brimming with tears, "I need you to still be my friend. You helped me through the hardest point of my life so far; please say you'll help me again."

"Bella," he began weakly, trying to hold to his convictions, but I could see that he was giving in. I took his weakness to continue.

"Look at Seth and Edward!" I said desperately, "look at the friendship that budded between them! It IS possible for a vampire and a werewolf to be friends." There was a long moment of silence with Jacob thought through everything I'd said. "I don't want to hurt you, but I really hope we can be friends."

He slowly reached over and grabbed my hand, sighed and said, "Okay, Bella, I'll try." Elated, I leapt into his lap and hugged him to me as tightly as I could.

"Oh Jake, you have _no_ idea how much this means to me!" I whispered as loudly as I could, still very much aware of my father sleeping in the next room.

"I think that's about enough for one evening," a calm voice spoke from the shadows. I jumped up quickly, and looked towards the window to see Alice leaning against the wall next to the window. Jacob let out a very low, quiet growl, but she ignored him. "Your future disappeared," she said sternly to me.

"Edward," I groaned, expecting him to leap through the window at any moment.

"No," she said, "I hid my thoughts from him and came to check it out myself. I figured it would be something like _this_," she spat with a look towards Jacob. "While I don't approve, I figured I couldn't stop you, and I didn't want to hurt Edward." A wave of guilt washed over me. "He's so elated about tomorrow, I didn't want to bring him down, but I wanted to make sure you were alright."

"She's fine," Jacob hissed, "and she'll always _be_ fine if she's with me."

"All the same, I wanted to make sure. Now Bella, you've got a big day tomorrow, and you really do need your sleep. Jacob," she began gently, clearly unsure about how she should ask him to leave his best friend so that she would be well rested to marry a vampire in the morning. Fortunately, Jacob understood, and with a last desperate look in my direction, headed towards the window. Right before he stepped out, he turned to me.

"If you change your mind…"

"I'm the first in line," I sang, and was greeted with strange looks from both occupants of my room. "Oh um, it's from _Mamma Mia_," I said sheepishly. I had such a knack for ruining moments and making them horribly awkward for everyone in the room. "Bye Jake," I whispered, and he disappeared through my open window.

"I didn't want to upset Edward," Alice began sternly, "but this needs to stop. Bella, I love you, and I want you to be happy, but you can't have them both. When you do this, you hurt Edward and he questions your feelings for him, and you also hurt Jacob, stringing him along, making him think he still has a chance. That boy is more stubborn than anyone I've ever encountered, including Rosalie, and he's not going to give up on you until your heart literally stops beating. Edward is willing to kill you, against his better judgment, because he wants to be with you forever, and he knows it will make you happy. You need to stop hurting him. You need to stop hurting them _both_, Bella. It's harsh, but it's true. I mean, is there any doubt in your mind that marrying Edward tomorrow is the thing you want more than anything in the world?"

"No," I whispered, barely audible, "no doubt at all. This is what I want."

"Then Bella," she sighed, wrapping an arm around my shoulder and pulling me close, "don't hurt Edward anymore. Be with him, and don't regret a moment."

"You won't tell him about tonight, will you?"

"No, I don't want to hurt him either. I'm going to do my best to guard my thoughts around him for a while. I've never seen him as happy as he is right now, just gliding around the house on cloud nine."

"Thank you Alice," I said, hugging her to me. "I promise, I won't hurt Edward anymore."

"I'm glad," she smiled at me. "Alright, really now, you need some sleep. I'm going to be doing your make-up tomorrow, but it would make my life a little bit easier if I didn't have to deal with dark circles under your eyes missy."

I laughed. "Okay, goodnight Alice, I'll see you in the morning."

She swiftly kissed me on the cheek, flew to the window, and was gone. I thought over all that had taken place in my room, and decided Alice was right. I'd already had this fight with myself, but I really needed to stop hurting Edward. It pained him to see me sad over Jacob, and I couldn't make him feel that way anymore. Fortunately, it sounded like Jake was willing to give our friendship another shot.

I reached over and grabbed the little silver phone sitting on my bed stand, and dialed Edward's number. He answered in the middle of the first ring.

"What's wrong?" he asked pleadingly, no doubt afraid that I'd somehow managed to go from almost asleep to mortal danger in the hour or so since he'd left me.

"Nothing's wrong, I'm fine," I whispered into the phone, incredulous that Charlie was still fast asleep. "I just couldn't sleep, I miss you."

"Well, you already know how I feel about coming over there now," he began, but I cut him off.

"No, no of course not, I just wanted to hear your voice."

"Ah, well then, what would you like me to say?" he teased.

"Anything."

"_'Tis almost morning; I would have thee gone:  
And yet no further than a wanton's bird;  
Who lets it hop a little from her hand,  
Like a poor prisoner in his twisted gyves,  
And with a silk thread plucks it back again,  
So loving-jealous of his liberty_."

Oh, but of course he would recite Romeo and Juliet! My heart fluttered, and I replied, "_I would I were thy bird_."

"_Sweet, so would I: Yet I should kill thee with much cherishing. Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it be morrow_."

"You're wonderful," I said simply, reminding myself to breathe.

"As are you, my love," he countered. "Get some sleep."

"But I don't want to hang up," I pouted.

"Then don't," and with those final words, he began to hum my lullaby. I fought to keep my eyes open, but it was in vain.

"I love you," I whispered, and dropped off into unconsciousness before he even had a chance to reply.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Five

**News!:** first off, I want to thank everyone for reading it so far!! I'm glad that I've had such a great response to it, I was afraid no one would read it haha. That being said, I debated making this it's own chapter, I wasn't sure if I should add more to the end (ie, the wedding) or if I should leave it at this, and have it be it's own chapter... after some thought, I decided to publish it so you guys could read. I'm also still sorting out exactly how I want the wedding to happen haha. I promise it'll be up soon! **If you have any ideas that you'd like to see me try to work into the story, please let me know! **I'm always up for considering new ideas. That being said, here's chapter five!

**Disclaimer:** I'm still not Stephenie Meyer, so I don't own Edward, Bella, or any of them sighs enjoy.

Chapter Five

The next morning I awoke to find myself curled into a tight ball under my covers, clutching the small silver phone in my hand, still open. I was about to shut it, when I heard Edward's voice say, "good morning beautiful." It sounded so distant, and I was confused until I realized the line had never disconnected. Incredulously, I held the phone up to my ear.

"Edward?" I asked, a little confused. "Did you stay on the line all night? I thought you needed to go hunt."

"Well of course I didn't stay on the line all night. I left my phone open so we'd stay connected, but I did go hunting with Emmett and Jasper. As much as I would've loved to sit here all night and listened to you talk in your sleep, we thought it would be best if we were all well fed for today."

This explanation seemed to make sense, but I was still confused. "How did you know when to say good morning, then?" I asked.

"Well duh," the sweet soprano voice called from my window, making me tumble awkwardly out of bed, and I ended up entangled in my blankets on the floor struggling to free myself. "I told him the exact second you were going to wake up this morning!"

In one swift movement Alice had me freed from my temporary restraints, and pulled me to my feet. I went to reach for the phone, but Alice already had it in her hand and was speaking to Edward.

"It's time for me to take over," she said into the phone, and I pouted that couldn't speak to him until later. "Bella, please, you're going to see him in a few hours."

I sighed and plopped down on the bed, playing with my nails absentmindedly, waiting for Alice to get off the phone. She eyed me for a moment, and an expression resembling pity spread across her face.

"Oh alright," she sighed, holding out the phone to me. "You get thirty seconds to say goodbye, and I'm counting!"

I quickly snatched the phone from her outstretched hand and held it to my ear.

"So how are you feeling this morning?" he asked before I even had a chance to speak.

"Anxious," I admitted.

"Good anxious or bad anxious?" he questioned.

"To be honest, a bit of both. Allow me to explain!" I insisted, as I heard him scoff through the phone. "Good anxious in that I get to be Mrs. Edward Cullen very _very_ soon. Bad anxious in that I'm fairly certain that somewhere with the twenty steps I'll be taking in front of people today, I'm going to trip and fall on my face. Good anxious that my mom will be here. Bad anxious that Alice can't see _anything_ that's going to happen because Seth and his mom are coming, so if I _am_ going to trip and break something, she can't see it coming."

"Oh Bella," he laughed, "Like I would ever let you fall. On the way up the aisle, Charlie will be there to catch you, and on the way back down, you'll have me. What could you possibly have to worry about?"

"I suppose you're right," I sighed. "Only," I glanced at the clock, trying to do the math. It was now 7:16. "Two hours and 44 minutes," I said, trying to sound excited, but my nerves were getting the best of me.

"Oh my gosh!" Alice exclaimed; clearly, she hadn't realized that she only had close to three hours to torture me with make-up and hair products before it was time. "Get off the phone NOW, we have so much work to do!"

With that, she flew out my window, and seconds later I heard the door bell ring. "Whoever could that be?" I asked mockingly, getting up and moving towards the door.

"I'll see you soon, love," Edward said. I said goodbye and shut the phone in time to hear Charlie call me from downstairs.

"Hey Bells, Alice is here!"

"Coming!" I called back, and headed down the stairs.

I entered the kitchen to see Charlie sitting there with Alice, finishing off the last off his coffee. "Want me to make you something for breakfast?" he asked cheerfully.

The look on Alice's face clearly told me that she didn't think I had time for a big breakfast, and she wanted to get to work right away. "Um, no thanks dad," I replied. I was too nervous to even consider eating anyway.

"Oh come on now, Bells," he insisted. "Today's a big day, you need to have _something_ in your stomach."

"Why," I asked, "so I can throw up all over the altar?" My stomach was already doing back flips, and I still had hours to go.

"At least a bite of cereal, if nothing else," Charlie insisted again, and I sighed and gave in.

Alice, feeling pressed for time, had already gotten out a bowl, a spoon, and the milk. I crossed to the cupboard, grabbed a random box of cereal, and sat down at the table. Alice drummed her fingers impatiently on the table while I ate, but she didn't have to wait long; after about three or four bites, I was fairly positive that I couldn't handle anymore, and I laid my spoon down on the table with a sigh.

"OkayCharliewe'regoingtogoupstairsandgetready!" Alice squealed, grabbing my hand and dragging me towards the stairs. I don't think he understood a word of it, but our actions were enough for him to get the gist. Once we got into my room, Alice shoved me into the chair that I used for whenever I actually used my ancient computer, gasped, and ran out the door. About a second later, she was back with her arms packed full of bags.

"Be careful about your speed!" I hissed at her, but she just laughed.

"Oh don't worry about Charlie, he's too preoccupied getting _himself_ ready to pay attention to _me_ right now. We've got soo much work to do, and only a few hours to go!" She pulled an old bed sheet out of one of her bags and tossed it over my bed, and dumped the rest of the bag's contents over the top. Apparently, my bed would be serving as her makeshift make-up counter. "I didn't _want_ to do it this way," she sighed, reading my expression, "but it's the best I can do. I can't _believe_ you don't have a vanity in your room!"

"Alice, I don't even wear make-up, what use would I have for a vanity?"

"Oh, _every _girl needs a vanity!" she scoffed. "Even Rosalie's got one, though I can't even imagine what she uses it for. Anyway, nails first!" and with that, she pulled out a couple small bottles from the mixture, and I realized she was preparing to give me a French manicure and pedicure.

"Alice, do we have time for this?" I gulped, glancing at the clock.

"Of course, now sit still!" She grabbed my feet and immediately went to work. I couldn't see how she could possibly finish in time, my nails alone were going to take quite some time. However, one detail I had totally forgotten to consider… Alice was fast. "Nails are done!" she called cheerfully just seconds later. "Now, let them dry while I get to work on your hair."

She immediately started plugging in curling irons, straighteners, and other fancy hair contraptions that I had never seen before. Could she really need all of this stuff to do my hair? She grabbed a brush and a container of bobby pins and dove in. It was the only moment in my life where I really did wish I had a vanity; I wanted to see what she was doing to my hair. I sat there growing more and more panicked at the thought of what she could possibly be doing to my head. I didn't really want to have a hair style like Alice could come up with; glamorous and understated. Visions of Dolly Parton flashed through my head and my anxiety worsened significantly.

However, I didn't have long to panic. Within minutes she was finished; any professional hairstylist would've needed at least an hour more to accomplish what Alice had in just a few short minutes.

"I need to see what you did," I croaked, fearing the worst. I tried to stand, but she pushed me back down in the chair.

"Your nails aren't dry, you can't be walking around the house yet!" she insisted. She rummaged through another bag and pulled out a huge hand mirror, and held it up in front of me.

"Oh Alice," was all I could manage as I eyed my hair in the mirror. It was perfect. She had pulled back the hair in the front straight and pinned in, so it was a slick, flat surface. There was a neat row of pearls strung through where the hair was clipped to hide the bobby pins, and the hair below it was curled. Then all the rest of my hair was down, cascading lightly around my shoulders, and it was all curled. (i205./albums/bb132/kjk5555/wedding/hair2.jpg this is the best I can do for a picture, I'm not 100 percent happy with it, but it's as close as I could find to what I was describing). I looked more beautiful than I thought possible. There was a chance that maybe Alice and Rosalie _wouldn't _outshine me, though I knew better than to think Edward would be giving either of them a second thought anyway. Most of all, I was happy that for the first time, I felt like I really _was_ beautiful enough to stand next to Edward in the photos, like I really did belong there next to him.

Tears began welling up in my eyes, and I reached out to Alice for a hug. "Nails!" she cried, grabbing me around the wrists to prevent me from ruining her handiwork. We both laughed, and she carefully wrapped her arms around me and gave me a little squeeze.

"Thank you so much Alice, I dunno how I can ever repay you!"

"Allowing me to do all of this for you without throwing a fit is payment enough," she insisted, and I laughed. "Now, here comes the make-up!"

I cringed. "Alice, I dunno, I don't usually wear any make-up, do I really need it now?"

"Um, yes, yes you do. It's a wedding! The bride can't show up without _make-up_!" She looked scandalized at the thought. "But don't worry," she insisted, "It's not even going to look like you have any on, I promise. You'll just look beautiful."

She curled my eye lashes – I'm still not certain whether this moment or my encounter with James was higher up on my list of "most terrifying moments of my life" – and began liberally applying mascara.

"Alice, do you really think that's a good idea? You know how I cry," I asked uncertainly. She simply laughed and held the bottle up and I read, "_waterproof_". I laughed. "Oh, you've thought of everything!"

She finished my make-up fairly quickly and held up the mirror again. Naturally, she was right; the dark mascara made my eyes stand out even more, and there was a hint of color to my lips and cheeks, but nothing over the top. It looked natural, and perfect; I was just glad to not look like a Barbie.

"Alice, you're a miracle worker," I gasped, looking myself over once again. By now, my nails were dry, and I grabbed the mirror from her and examined myself thoroughly.

"Edward's jaw is going to hit the floor," Alice said with a smirk. "Okay, and on with the dress!!" she squealed, barely able to contain herself. She pulled open the long garment bag that I had somehow completely missed before, and delicately lifted the dress out. It was as stunning now as it had been the first time she showed it to me. I couldn't believe something so beautiful was meant for _me_. I traced my fingers along the edge of the lace for a moment, looking it over. It was too perfect; Alice had managed to find a dress that was the perfect blend of modern and well, _Edward_. If I hadn't known better, I'd have thought Edward had hand-picked this dress himself to be exactly suited for the two of us. No one would ever think to question it, yet it couldn't help but sparkle, as if it knew it was more sophisticated that most of the dresses brides were trying on these days.

Alice watched me eye the dress with a smile. "It's quite perfect," she agreed, "but you need to put it on now." I stared at it for another long moment, then stripped down and she helped me into it. It fit like a glove, and I loved every detail of it. _The lace really is perfect for Edward,_ I thought to myself once more.

"I wish I could see it full-length," I sighed, regretting my lack of a floor-length mirror. I had never paid too much attention to how I looked, but this was one of those moments where I really would've appreciated it. "Too bad you don't have a giant mirror hidden somewhere in all of this," I laughed, gesturing to all of her bags strewn precariously around my room.

A grin broke out across her face, and I was shocked. "No way. You couldn't – where?" I asked, incredulous. "There is _no_ room for a full-length mirror _anywhere_ in here!" I insisted.

"Give me a little credit, Bella," she teased, "you really don't think _I_ could find room for a full-length mirror?"

I gaped at her wide-eyed as she grabbed the bag my dress had been in, and carefully withdrew a long mirror the length of my dress. I must've been so awed by my dress that I didn't even notice how carefully she had set the "empty" bag down on the ground a good three feet away from me, just in case. She leaned the mirror against my closet door, and I started to stand, to check out my full appearance.

"Wait!" She insisted, "no outfit is complete without the cute shoes!" She pulled them out of their box and slipped them on my feet; very simple, very classy… very high. I looked at the heel and gulped. "Oh Bella, it's only a two inch heel! I just wanted you to be a bit taller next to Edward."

"Looks like ten," I mumbled, and tried to stand. It was difficult, but not impossible, and Alice assisted me in walking a few circles around my room to get the hang of them. Once I was a little steadier on my feet, I decided to finally look in the mirror.

Nothing in the world could've prepared me for what I was going to see. I finally looked like a bride; the hair, the dress, the shoes, the ring… all of the pieces fell into place, and it finally hit me. I looked at Alice's reflection in the mirror next to mine, and said quietly, "I'm getting _married_ today."

A smile spread across her face, but she didn't say a word; she simply nodded.

--

well there it is! I hope you enjoyed it! ... I hope it made _sense_. Okay well as always, review please, I'd love to hear your feedback/ideas!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Six

**Note:** first off, as always thanks for the reviews!! It's good to know that people are reading! That being said, this chapter was actually _really_ difficult for me to write. I had a lot of debates with myself regarding details and how I wanted to write it. Now normally I'm not a fan of stories that change perspectives all the time, so I started writing it from Bella's point of view. Part way through, I realized that I wanted it from Edward's. I figured it would be more entertaining, especially getting to hear the thoughts of the people in the church, and I didn't really want to write "I had to remind myself to breathe" a thousand times. That being said, Stephenie also gave us a chapter from Jacob's point of view, so I figured I wouldn't burn in hell for writing one from Edwards. Okay well, here it is, I hope no one is disappointed, I did my best! :)

**Disclaimer**: not Stephenie Meyer. Oh how I wish I were. The only characters I own are the ones you don't recognize. Enjoy!

Chapter Six

Edwards POV:

I couldn't believe the moment was finally here; it was a long time coming. I stood at the altar of the tiny St. Peter's Catholic Church in Forks, and any second now Bella would be walking up the aisle with Charlie to become my wife. My _wife_. At the thought of it, a great smile spread across my face. I had never felt that anything was missing in the more than one hundred years before I met Bella, and suddenly the next thirty seconds it would take her to appear seemed like an eternity.

I stood there waiting, trying to be as patient as possible, and desperately trying to tune out the thoughts of all of the occupants of the tiny church. Some, however, managed to seep through, no matter how hard I tried to tune them out.

_Ugh, she is so lucky to have landed _Edward Cullen_, what does he see in her anyway? _ The voice of Jessica whined from a few rows back. _She's so plain, she's not that pretty… He could do so much better than her, like _me.

_Yeah, enough of that,_ I thought, and started humming to myself.

_Edward. Edward. EDWARD!_ Alice's voice screamed inside my head. _It's time! _

I looked up to see her peeking through the door at the back of the church. _Just give me a nod if you're ready_, she thought. I nodded. _Okay, then here we go!_

The congregation suddenly went quiet, and I saw Phil head up the aisle with Renee on his arm. She was wearing a dress that I'm sure Alice was in love with; it was a lovely shade of green that complimented her complexion and eyes, and had elaborate, ornate beadwork adorning it. Phil had a simple tuxedo, with a handkerchief that matched the color of Renee's dress. They looked wonderful.

As soon as they were seated, I saw that Carlisle and Esme were next. They were both stunning as always, even though Esme had chosen nothing more than a simple, floor-length gown of pastel blue and Carlisle was wearing a classic black tux as well. As they walked up the aisle, they smiled at me, and thought words of encouragement.

_She looks lovely,_ I heard from Carlisle,_ and she's so excited. You're going to be wonderful together. _ I smiled and gave him a very small nod to acknowledge his thoughts.

_Oh Edward, I'm so happy for you,_ Esme thought, and I think if she were capable of crying, she would be doing so now. _You've been alone too long, it's so great that you've found someone as amazing as Bella to make you happy._

It meant so much that they were supportive of what I was doing; sometimes I doubted myself, doubted that this was the right decision for Bella and for myself, but I was too selfish to care. I couldn't leave her, not now, so this was my decision. Right or wrong, as long as she wanted me, I would be there.

As soon as Carlisle and Esme were in their seats, Pachelbel's Canon in D began to play, and the entire congregation stood and turned to face the back of the church. I stepped slightly closer towards the center aisle and looked up to see Rosalie and Emmett coming through the door together. Rosalie was nothing less than stunning in her scarlet red, off the shoulder gown, with her hair pulled up and elaborately curled. Emmett too looked extremely handsome, with a small red rose to compliment Rosalie's dress. The entire congregation was awed by their appearance, and many of our classmates whom Alice had chosen to invite on Bella's behalf were thinking less than pure thoughts about the two of them.

_Way to go man! _Emmett thought with a grin on his face, _Only took you a hundred years, but you finally did it!_

I rolled my eyes at him, and looked to Rosalie. _Oh Edward, I'm so sorry for all of the negativity I've directed at Bella since she moved here. You do know that I'm so glad you've found her, and that she's becoming part of our family, right?_ I dipped my head so slightly at her that no one else in the church could've possibly noticed the slight gesture. _Good, _she thought, _I'm so happy for you both._

They made it up to the altar and parted, Emmett coming to stand near me on the right side while Rosalie went to stand over to the left. Jasper and Alice followed, their outfits matching Emmett's and Rosalie's, respectively. Bella had asked Alice to be her maid of honor because of the bond that had grown between them, especially after her encounter with James and their little fieldtrip to Italy. I honestly couldn't choose between which of my brothers I would want for my best man, so I took the easy route and asked Jasper, figuring that this way, they could walk up the aisle in their own respective pairs. It didn't really matter to me who did what, as long as my entire family was there.

It surprised me to hear that Jasper wasn't thinking _anything_ in my direction; he was thinking about how gorgeous Alice looked in that dress. I chuckled quietly to myself, and looked to her, instead.

_Oh zeg zie je bij het begin van de vroege licht wat we zo trots bejubeld op de schemering de laatste glanzende,_ I heard from her. What the hell? She was singing the Star Spangled Banner in _Dutch_. (**AN:** okay, to be perfectly honest, I just used a Google language translation, so my apologies in the event that someone does, in fact, speak Dutch and this makes no sense. Blame Google for that one.) Only Alice. My face must've given away my confusion at the song no one else could hear, because she laughed to herself and thought, _well I didn't want to think about Bella and give anything away before she got up here!_

Of course. I mumbled a low, fast "thank you" to her that no one but my family had any hope of hearing. They too reached the altar, and parted ways, with Jasper coming to stand next to me and Alice going to take her place by Rosalie.

Next an adorable little boy and girl whom I had never seen before came up the aisle, him in a little black tuxedo with an off-white rose, and her in a cute poofy little champagne colored dress. _I think one is like, a third cousin of Angela Webber's twice removed, and the other is actually Mike Newton's little nephew, _Alice thought. At the mention of Mike Newton, I tried to hide my scowl, but subtle as it was, she picked up on it. _Hey, we needed a flower girl and ring bearer, _she insisted in her mind. _Bella doesn't have any young cousins or anything, so I had to dig some up. _That was so typical of Alice, to drag random strangers into an event just to appease _herself_. It reminded me a lot of our graduation party, where Alice had invited most of the teenage population of Forks, though none of us had ever spoken so much as two words to more than three quarters of them.

Once the little couple had taken their proper places, the music changed in anticipation of the moment I had been waiting for all my existence, but hadn't realized until about a year and a half prior. Mendelssohn's _Wedding March_ began to play, everyone in the church shifted, leaning to look down the aisle. I tried to see Bella and Charlie as they made their way through the doors, but everyone leaned forward so much that my view down the center aisle was completely obstructed. Damn them, didn't they realize how long I'd been waiting for this moment? I heard thought after thought, all very much the same; how lucky _I_ was, how beautiful _she_ was… how hot I looked in this tux…? I turned to Jessica in time to see her blush a deep scarlet at having been caught staring at me, and she turned back towards Bella. I would have to have a few words with Alice about the guest list, and insist on having the final say for future endeavors.

Finally, almost like a scene from a film, I saw Bella and Charlie making their way towards me, taking small paces up the aisle. _I can't let her trip, I can't let her trip_, Charlie was chanting to himself in his head, and my smile grew wider, if possible. Charlie may have been worried about Bella tripping, but if she was as well, she never showed it. Her face didn't give away even an ounce of anxiety; I was amazed at how serene and calm she looked. She was also the most beautiful girl I had ever seen in my life.

_Edward, breathe! _ Alice hissed to me through her thoughts. I wondered how long I had been standing there holding my breath; quickly, I drew in a sharp breath, and Bella chuckled at me. They had now reached the end of the aisle, and Charlie kissed Bella on the hand. He was about to pass her off to me, when suddenly she threw both her arms tightly around his neck, hugged him, and whispered, "thank you dad, I love you."

He smiled, tears welling in his eyes, and hugged her briefly before whispering, "I love you too Bells, now get up there." He chuckled lightly, grabbed my hand and placed hers in it, then patted them lightly. He smiled whole-heartedly at both of us and thought to himself, _take care of my girl, Edward_; I came very close to answering him before I realized that he wasn't aware that I could hear his thoughts. He turned and took his place next to Renee, and then Bella and I continued up the rest of the way to the altar.

The wedding went perfectly, and finally Alice got one detail right: I was so glad for the professional video recorder we had. I was so enraptured with Bella that I could barely remember a single detail of the whole ceremony other than her smile. On occasion my family members had offered me mental reminders to breathe, reminders that on a few occasions, I had to pass on to Bella as well. It was slightly more essential for her to have oxygen than I, but there would still be a lot of questions if I didn't breathe once through the entire ceremony.

After what seemed like only moments, the minister was informing me that it was time to kiss the bride. As I leaned in, I whispered, "please try to control yourself Bella, we're in a room full of people." She chuckled, and innocently kissed me for a moment before pulling away.

"How'd I do?" she teased, smiling up at me. I responded with no more than a smile and a nod, because the roaring applause and cat calls from the congregation were so loud, I don't think she would've heard a word that I said.

Moments later, we were walking down the center aisle, Bella's hand gripped tightly in mine, afraid of falling; she needn't have worried, I would never let her fall. We took the thousands of standard pictures; in front of the church, in front of the altar, kissing on the steps, in front of our limo, each one growing more ridiculously romantic than the last. Bella even insisted that she wanted a picture of just Charlie and I: I couldn't talk her into joining us for that one. She insisted that she have a photo of "the two most important men in her life."

As we were posing for that photo, Bella ran off to gather Renee, Phil, and the rest of my family for a big family portrait. I was glad that she was getting so engrossed in the event; for the first time since I'd known her, she seemed genuinely happy to be the center of attention. "Okay gentlemen, you're all set," the photographer said after snapping one final picture of Charlie and I.

As we stood there waiting for Bella to reappear, Charlie turned to me with a very serious look on his face. "Now Edward," he began, and I was so glad to be able to read his thoughts; at first, I had thought a lecture was coming, but I was pleasantly surprised and waiting patiently for Charlie to speak. "I know I've given you a very hard time concerning Bella since she moved here. I'd like to take a moment to apologize."

"Charlie," I started, wanting to reassure him that I had never taken anything he'd said to heart. I knew he was a concerned father, and was looking out for his daughter. If we were able to tell him the whole truth about our relationship, I knew he'd feel a lot differently about me right now.

"No, Edward, please, let me finish. I don't think I've ever given you the true credit that you deserve. Sure, you and Bella had your rough patches, and I think I may have looked upon you a little too harshly during those times. I just wanted to do what was right for Bella, and I never wanted to see her unhappy.

"I realize now that you make her happier than anyone she's ever met; when she's with you, she _glows_. Thank you so much for everything you've done for her thus far, and I have no doubt that you'll do everything in your power to keep her happy in the future." He reached out his hand, and I grasped it firmly. After a moment, his eyes began to well with tears; he laughed and said, "Oh, get over here Edward," and pulled me into a tight hug. It was a really fantastic moment for me, to finally be completely accepted by Charlie after all we'd been through.

Just then Bella reappeared, saw us mid-hug, and burst into tears. "I _knew_ you didn't hate Edward!" she sobbed, and pulled the green handkerchief out of Phil's pocket to dab her eyes. He awkwardly started to protest when Renee smacked him on the shoulder and everyone laughed.

"We're all here now," she said to the photographer and grabbed my hand, pulling me in tight. He arranged the whole family around us on the church steps; Bella stood on my right, Carlisle on my left, and Esme next to him. Charlie stood to Bella's right, with Renee next to him, and then Phil on her other side. Emmett, Rosalie, Alice, and Jasper stood a few steps up behind us, arching themselves behind Bella and I.

_What a beautiful family,_ the photographer and on-lookers all thought as we stood there, and I flushed with pride; it felt good to be a big happy family.

Finally the picture affair subsided, and it was time to move on to the reception. Alice had decked out our home in the most lavish decorations imaginable, and was practically bouncing with excitement, anxious to see how our guests would respond to her hard work. Like clockwork, our white stretch limousine pulled up, and everyone gathered around outside began to cheer.

"Shall we, Mrs. Cullen?" I asked, grabbing Bella's hand and flashing her the smile I knew she loved so much.

She flushed scarlet, and nodded. I helped her into the car, then slid in beside her and rolled the window down. We leaned out and waved goodbye to our guests as the car pulled away and headed back down the way to the house.

Once we were out of sight of the church, I rolled the window back up and turned to Bella, surprised to see her sobbing silently. "Oh love, what's wrong?" I questioned, once again upset at my inability to read her thoughts.

"Nothing's wrong," she insisted. "It's all perfect. Too perfect."

I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her close, and she leaned into my shoulder. I kissed her lightly on top of her head. "Oh now don't say that," I whispered in her ear. "It can't be perfect _yet_; how am I supposed to top _perfect_ later tonight?"

She laughed, and the tears abruptly stopped. "Thank god for waterproof mascara," was all she said before leaning up to kiss me again. Then she leaned back into my shoulder and settled in for the ride.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked, a minute later.

"Oh, not much," she said, thoughtfully, "just mentally preparing myself for whatever Alice has got in store for us when we step out of this car in a few minutes."

--

okay well there it is! I really hope you enjoyed it, and that the Edward's point of view bit wasn't too weird. Please review so I know if you liked it, I'm totally open to re-writing this one if people aren't happy... It took me a long time, and I'm still not sure if I'm totally okay with every single detail.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Seven

**A/N**: I'm so glad you all liked the last chapter! I was a bit worried about it... and I'm SOO sorry this chapter took so long to get up... I've been sort of busy, and I had some trouble focusing and getting this exactly the way I wanted. I had a touch of writers block, and I really wanted to sort out the rest of the details before I progressed any further on this chapter even though I knew where I was going with it. That being said, enjoy this chapter! I think it's the longest one yet, which you all deserve for waiting so patiently over a WEEK for me to write it. Again, so sorry. Enjoy!!

**Disclaimer**: not Stephenie Meyer. Not even close. She owns them, not me.

Chapter Seven

Bella's POV

After a few minutes of mental preparation for whatever Alice had in store for us (after I had offered her free reign over the details, she'd hardly told me a thing about it, and was even careful enough to keep Edward out of her thoughts for weeks), we pulled onto the long road leading up to the house. I gasped in awe of the over-the-top decorations lining either side of the drive; beautiful lacy streamers and thousands upon thousands of small twinkle lights lined the trees on either side for the entire length of the drive. It was only getting to be midday, but it was dark enough in the trees for the lights to be twinkling and lighting the way.

"Wow," I gasped, taking everything in. "It's…_magical_."

"Alice has certainly out-done herself," Edward agreed. "And I must admit, I'm extremely glad she kept this all from me." He must've detected a lack of comprehension on my face, because he added, "it's so much better to be experiencing it for the first time with you… it wouldn't be quite the same if I had already experienced it through Alice."

I nodded. "I can imagine that must get frustrating – after all, you can never _really_ be surprised by anything."

"Now that's where you're wrong, love," he countered. "With you, it's always a surprise." He kissed the top of my head, and I felt my cheeks flush. "We're just about there."

I looked out the window to see that we were fast approaching the house. The rest of the Cullens were already there – had they run? I couldn't remember how they'd been planning to travel, but I would've expected their plans to include a car, if only for show. Alice was bouncing up and down on the porch impatiently, and once again I found myself floored by her attention to detail.

Lining the railings up on either side of the stairs and all along the porch was more of the same gorgeous lace, and the stairs were lined with twinkle lights, as if to light the way into the house. Alice had designated a large portion of the lawn for parking cars and the pathway from there to the porch was lit with small lanterns suspended on the ends of small poles. It was a lot to take in, and neither of us spoke as we looked around.

"This is so exciting!" Alice exclaimed, rushing forward, stepping between us, and grabbing a hold of each of us with one arm. She ushered us up the steps and inside. "You two need to hurry and get upstairs, the guests will be arriving in one minute and 28 seconds, and they can't see you!"

"Wait, so the guests at our wedding reception aren't allowed to see us?" I asked sarcastically, looking up at Edward.

"You have to make an _entrance,_ Bella; you can't just be standing here in the middle of the room to greet people as they walk in!" Alice insisted, giving me a gentle but firm nudge towards the staircase.

"No, because that would be _silly_," I laughed, and Edward grabbed my hand and pulled me up the stairs behind him.

"When will they all be here so we can come back?" Edward asked of Alice, and turned to head back up the stairs before she gave an audible answer.

We reached the top of the stairs and headed towards his room, and I asked, "Well, when will they all be here?"

"We've got fifteen minutes," he said with a grin, pulling me through the door to his room.

"Don't you _dare_ mess up your hair Isabella Marie Swa-, er, Cullen!!" Alice screamed up from the living room, and I flushed crimson; as if I could bring myself to do anything inappropriate with everyone in the house. There was no way I was going to embarrass myself in a house full of vampires with super-sensitive hearing. Not today.

Upon entering his room, we both headed for the black sofa; he sat down and pulled me into his lap, then kissed me gently. "So, we have fifteen minutes," he said.

"Uh huh," I replied absentmindedly, staring down at my left hand and playing with the rings I found there. It was so strange, to be married. Not that I had any problem with being committed to Edward for the rest of eternity, but the whole marriage deal was very unfamiliar territory for me. I didn't really totally understand how it worked; my parents were only married for a very brief time, and Renee hadn't found Phil all that long ago, in retrospect, so I'd never really spent much time around a happily married couple. The idea of how this worked was so foreign to me. As I began to get lost in my own thoughts about marriage and all that the word implied, Edward gently rubbed my arm and brought me back to earth.

"You know it makes me crazy when I don't know what you're thinking," he whispered softly in my ear. "A little insight?"

"Oh, it's nothing really," I said slowly. "Just… marriage." I voiced my concerns about never really being around a happily married couple, and how I wasn't sure how it worked.

"So?" Edward questioned, not seeming to see the problem.

"Well, what if… oh, never mind," I sighed. "I suppose it's probably stupid, and you're just going to laugh at me."

"Oh I wouldn't dream of it," he insisted. "What is it?"

"It's just… oh, it's so embarrassing to say out loud," I moaned, frustrated. "What if… what if I'm a bad wife?" At this, Edward burst out into laughter. "Oh I knew it!" I cried, burying my head in his shoulder. "I told you it was stupid!"

"No, no Bella, I'm not laughing _at_ you, I promise," he said, chuckling. "It's just… the thought that you could be anything less than perfect to me, it's laughable."

"Oh you say that now," I countered, "But Renee and Charlie were the same way! What if one day you get sick of me, and feel stuck, and want to leave?"

"Bella," he said softly, stroking my hair. "We're not your parents. Our situation is completely different… and I'll certainly _never_ get sick of you, if I haven't by _now_," he teased, attempting to ruffle my hair, but Alice had used at least three cans of hairspray, and it wasn't going to budge. "What did she DO to this?" he asked incredulously, studying my hair.

"Behold the power of hairspray!" I said with a grin and a grand waving gesture of both hands, showing off my iron-clad hairstyle.

"Of course, I _could_ mess it up, if I wanted to," Edward said dangerously, but I knew it was an empty threat.

"Oh Alice would _kill_ you," I laughed, and he chuckled, nodding his silent agreement.

Just then, there was a light knock on the door.

"Are you two decent?" Alice's tentative voice called from the other side. "It's time for your entrance!"

"Yes, we're decent!" he called back, then turned his head back towards me. "Are you ready?"

I rose up off his lap, smoothed my dress out, and grabbed his hand. "Ready as I'll ever be," I sighed. "Just don't let me fall down the stairs."

We walked down the hall and stopped just short of the staircase so no one could see us yet. Alice stepped forward to the center of the landing, and cleared her throat cutely, but loudly. The room below immediately went silent, and I imagined the entire room full of people turned to face Alice on the stairs.

"May I present," she began, and a broad grin spread across her face, "Mr. and Mrs. Edward Anthony Cullen!"

The room below erupted into raucous cheering, so deafening that I couldn't hear when Edward screamed "let's go!" in my ear; instead, he grasped my hand firmly and pulled me towards the stairs. Alice stepped back and made a grand gesture with her arms, as if she was trying to sweep us down the stairs. I immediately flushed scarlet at the hundreds of faces beaming up at us from the room below. Had there really been this many people in the church this morning? Somehow, standing up here above them all looking down was so much more intimidating than it had been in the church a few hours before.

As we made our way down the stairs, the crowd gathered at the bottom backed away, creating a path for us to follow; it took us over to a small dance floor in the middle of the living room. Wait a second, a dance floor? This was never here before, I was certain of it. It's possible that I missed it the first time around when Alice was quickly ushering us up the stairs, but I had spent so much time in this room, and I was positive that was not a permanent fixture in the past.

Seeming to read my mind once again, Edward whispered in my ear, "Alice _actually _had them tear up the floor and re-lay the wood to create this little space, can you believe it?"

I silently shook my head. Alice really was unbelievable. As Edward led me towards the dance floor, I craned my neck, looking around for Alice. She had already descended the stairs, and I spied her standing at the foot of them, leaning an elbow on the banister and resting her head in her hand. When our eyes met, she straightened up and beamed at me. "Thank you," I mouthed silently, and smiled.

"Now what?" I questioned Edward once we were standing in the center of the floor. Before he could answer, a voice came on over a PA system that I was also fairly certain the Cullens did not possess. I glanced around the room to see the massive DJ station set up, and Alice was standing there, microphone in hand. I hoped no one had seen her sprint inhumanely fast across the room – that's the only way she could've gotten to her new location so quickly. "It is now time for the happy couple to have their first dance!" she called out happily, and my stomach fell.

"Oh no," I moaned quietly, and Edward let out a low chuckle.

"Come on love, it'll be easy. Just like the prom," he insisted. "And hey, you'll actually be _lighter_ this time, with the weight of your cast gone."

I chuckled, but rolled my eyes. "Like I can stand on your feet _now_."

"Your dress is long enough, no one would ever know."

However, there was no way I was going to act like a five-year-old and step up onto Edward's feet in front of a room full of hundreds of people. "So what cheesy love song did Alice choose for our first dance?" I asked. I stood there, waiting for Rascal Flatts to begin to play, or maybe a Celine Dion ballad. The thought made me cringe. However, nothing could've prepared me for what I was about to hear.

My lullaby began to play.

I breathed in sharply, and looked up to meet Edward's eyes. He beamed back at me with that crooked smile I love so much. "I _did_ know about _that_ detail," Edward confessed, and in one motion picked me up, spun me around, and placed me gently back on my feet: right on top of his. Well, now I could dance like a five-year-old and no one would know, I supposed.

"Very smooth," I laughed. "Oh Edward, this is amazing." I leaned my head against his shoulder, closed my eyes, and listened to the lullaby. Suddenly, it felt like we were the only two people in the room. On the entire planet, even. In that moment, nothing mattered but the music playing and Edward holding me as we twirled slowly around the dance floor.

All too soon, the song came to an end, and I opened my eyes and smiled at Edward. Suddenly, I became aware of the indistinct murmuring of our guests all around the room; I hadn't heard a word of it as we'd been dancing. "What are they thinking?" I whispered up to Edward.

"Mostly how perfect we are," he replied with a grin, and I smiled back. Perfect was definitely the word I had in mind as well.

Most of the reception flew by in a blur; Edward and I wandered from table to table greeting all of our guests and thanking them for being there. Every once in a while, Edward would tense up a bit and tighten his grip on me; it made me envy his ability to read minds. I wanted to know what they were thinking, too.

It was definitely the worst when we happened upon the table where Mike and Jessica were seated. Mike had been seating with his arm draped casually over the back of Jessica's chair, but when he saw us approaching he removed it, straightened up, and leaned so far away from her that he was in danger of falling off the chair. Edward had been holding my hand, but suddenly he pulled me in front of him and wrapped both arms protectively around my waist and pulled me close. Mike watched this action, and leaned even closer to me.

"Hi Bella!" he breathed, jumping to his feet. He couldn't possibly think he still had a shot, could he? "Edward," he said, with a nod. "Congratulations you two! It was a wonderful ceremony. You look so beautiful," he said, turning to face me directly. The following moment was almost too awkward for words. Mike held out both arms towards me, as if going in for a hug, although Edward's arms were still wrapped around me closely. Mike raised an eyebrow at him, as if to ask whether Edward was really going to deny him the opportunity to hug his friend at her wedding.

Reluctantly, Edward released me, and Mike threw his arms around me. The glare I was receiving from Jessica, still seated behind him and pouting, was enough to make my cheeks burn. I could only imagine the look Edward must have been directing at Mike. Soon, but not soon enough, Mike released me and stepped back. Edward stretched out his hand and I went to take it, but then I realized it wasn't for me: it was for Mike.

"Thanks for being here," Edward said, a playful grin spreading across his face. "We're glad so many of our classmates could make it."

Mike reached out his hand tentatively to take Edwards. I knew Edward would be squeezing his hand inappropriately tightly, but Mike was a pretty good sport about it, and didn't really show it. I was fully expecting to see him cry, but he managed with only a slight grimace. Edward released him, then wrapped an arm around my waist.

"Thanks for coming, guys!" I called as Edward steered me towards another table. "So," I asked, twisting around to face him, "did you _break_ his hand, or just severely impair it?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Edward responded innocently. I glanced back over my shoulder to see Mike grimacing and flexing his hand. Well, at least it wasn't broken.

"What were they thinking?" I asked, knowing it must've been something bad enough to make Edward respond that way.

"Well, Jessica's brain never stops," he began. "She went from how hot I am, to how lucky you are, to how terrible you look – and she's completely and utterly wrong, just thinking out of jealousy," he added hastily before I ran off to consult a mirror. "Oh, and she was plotting your death. I think she got through seven or eight scenarios before she switched over to self-pitying thoughts about how Mike should be in love with her, and not you."

"Has she ever had a thought that wasn't completely shallow in every way possible?" I pondered allowed.

"Not that I've ever overheard," he confirmed. "Mike's thoughts were worse." He grimaced, and tightened his grip around me. "Most of them were extremely inappropriate, but they did include plots for _my_ death – as if he could take me – and different scenarios that would lead to our divorce and allow him the opportunity to move back into the picture."

"Wow," was all I managed to say.

"Yeah, let's steer clear of those two for the rest of the day," he suggested, and led me off towards another table.

The rest of the reception passed without major event. We had all of the traditional dances: Edward made Renee look so light on her feet, and when he danced with Esme no one in the room dared to speak because they were so graceful and elegant. On the other hand, dancing with Charlie was pure torture. While I love my father, he and I are both missing the genes that make you graceful and give you the ability to dance without embarrassing yourself. We stepped on each other's feet quite a few times before the end of the song, which lasted much too long for my comfort. Dancing with Carlisle, on the other hand, was much like dancing with Edward: it gave the onlookers the false impression that I had a little bit of gracefulness in me.

Aside from the Mike and Jessica snag, the reception was absolutely amazing. I spent most of it floating around the room with Edward, a serene smile plastered across my face. I don't remember most of the conversations that occurred, because anytime I wasn't deeply involved in a conversation, I was thinking about Edward and I. I found it amazing that I had ever been opposed to the idea of marrying Edward, because I couldn't imagine anything I could possibly want more than what I was going through right at that moment.

As the party drew to a close, most of the guests had left, and the only people left were Charlie, Renee, Phil, and the Cullens. Alice zoomed around the room, cleaning up happily and everyone remaining sat around one of the tables, chatting.

"Everything was so perfect," Renee gushed, leaning against Phil's shoulder.

"Yes, it went beautifully," Esme agreed.

"It's getting late though, we should probably get to our hotel, it's a bit of a drive," Renee admitted.

"Yeah, and I'm wiped," Charlie agreed. "So you'll come by sometime tomorrow and say a proper goodbye?" he asked, turning to me.

I nodded. The plan was that Edward and I would go on our honeymoon, and as soon as it ended, it would be time for us to be moving into our dorms. This meant that my final goodbye to my parents would have to occur before we left, because we'd be going straight to Dartmouth from the trip; Alice was going to take care of all of our stuff. Of course, I wouldn't really be attending Dartmouth: Alice was going in my place. She would pretend to be me, attend my classes, and send the grades back to Charlie. Edward was going to change me on our "honeymoon" and we were going to relocate up to Alaska for the year so I could become accustomed to living as a vampire. Then, in the spring when I was a little more capable of controlling myself around people, I would be faking my death. That way, I could be sent back to Forks for my funeral, and then I wouldn't have to just mysteriously disappear.

This meant that my goodbye with everyone tomorrow was going to be my last goodbye _ever_. I would continue to call and keep in touch with them on a regular basis until I faked my death, but it would be the last time they would ever see me alive.

I felt the tears beginning to sting my eyes and betray me, and Edward noticed as well, because he quickly stood up and began walking my family out. "I'll see you in the morning!" I called as cheerfully as I could, and my voice cracked a bit, but didn't give me away.

"Bye Bells!" they called back happily and headed towards their cars.

Once Edward saw them off, he came back inside, grabbed my hand, and led me silently towards the stairs. He knew I was going to need the night to prepare myself for my final goodbyes, so when we got upstairs, he sat on his leather couch without a word, and I went off to the bathroom. Alice arrived within seconds, and helped me get out of the dress, take my hair down, and removed my make-up.

"It's all going to be fine," she soothed, knowing that at any moment I would burst into tears. I took a quick hot shower to rid myself of the hairspray and any remaining make-up we'd missed, and then I slipped into my pajamas and headed back to Edward's room.

He had already changed and was waiting for me on the gold bedspread in the middle of the room. I silently crawled into bed beside him, wrapped myself up in his arms, and finally succumbed to the tears that had been threatening since Charlie said goodbye.

Instinctively, Edward's arms tightened around me, and he stroked my hair gently with one hand. I sat and sobbed silently for a long time, thinking about what I had to do the next day, and Edward never said a word, just comforted me. After a while, he began to hum my lullaby, and my eyelids began to droop. I sighed, leaned into him, and nodded off to sleep.

--

So that's it! As always, read, review, let me know what you thought! Thanks!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Eight

**A/N**: okay, so once again, sorry it took so long. I had it all written out, then changed half of it as I was getting it typed up, and just ended up rewriting the whole thing haha. Thanks to everyone who has stuck by it so far. I know I haven't been updating as regularly as I should've, so thanks for your patience! This is the last chapter before the exciting stuff happens... sorry if it's been boring but come on, I needed to get through the goodbyes and everything, all the formalities. Stephenie Meyer is gonna do it in HER version of Breaking Dawn too, so if you're sitting there swearing at me NOW, you'll be swearing at her too, soon... this stuff is necessary for a good story! I promise, it's going to get exciting really really soon!! Like, the next chapter soon!! Enjoy!

**Disclaimer**: Not Stephenie Meyer - just playing with Edward and Co. for a while.

Chapter Eight

The next morning dawned all too soon. After what seemed like no time at all, my eyelids were fluttering open to see Edward lying next to me, watching me.

"How many stupid things did I mutter in my sleep?" I asked with a groan. I hated how he listened to me sleep, but I'd willingly take the embarrassment to know that he was right there beside me all night.

He laughed, wrapped his arms around me, and planted a sweet, gentle kiss on my lips. Naturally, my pulse quickened, I disregarded and urge to control myself, and I pulled him closer, entangling my fingers in his bronze hair. He allowed me to lose control for a moment, and matched my enthusiasm. All too soon, I felt him pulling himself away, gently but firmly.

I sighed in defeat, but wouldn't allow him to move too far away. "So," I began, twirling a few stands of his hair between my fingers absentmindedly before continuing. "I've met _your_ condition-" I held up my left hand and wiggled my fingers to show off the gorgeous rings now residing there – "So when are you going to fulfill _mine_?" I drew my right hand down from his hair, along his jaw line, and down his neck until my fingers found his top shirt button. I traced around it for a moment while staring into his eyes.

"Bella," he began, and reached up, taking my hand in his and moving it away from the button. I gulped. Nothing ever worked out in my favor that began this way.

"But-!" I began to protest, but he quickly cut me off.

"Please allow me to finish, love," he said calmly. I rolled onto my back, stared up at the ceiling, and sighed. "Why are you being _so_ dramatic?" he asked incredulously.

"Because I _know_ what's coming!" I sighed again, exasperated. Tears were threatening to make themselves known, so I wished he'd just hurry and get this over with quickly.

"No, I don't think you do," he insisted, "which is why I need you to allow me to continue uninterrupted."

I sighed once more. Today was going to be difficult enough for me without having to sit through this speech and having to hear how he didn't want me to have my way. Sure, I'd let him finish, but I fully intended to have my say and fight him on it when he was finished.

"Now Bella, love," he began, placing a hand on my shoulder and gently, but firmly, forcing me to roll back towards him and look into his topaz eyes. For a minute, I forgot to be angry with him; I couldn't help but smile when he chose to dazzle me like this. "Today is going to be difficult enough for you. You don't need to be thinking about _that_ when you've already got so much on your mind. Now, you need to get through today first, and then we leave tomorrow morning." I grumbled quietly to myself, but didn't say anything; he didn't seem to be quite finished.

"So… get through today first, and we'll save that for our honeymoon, shall we?" He grinned my favorite crooked smile, and I was speechless.

"We're – but – tomorrow?" I spat, unable to gather my thoughts enough to form a complete sentence.

"Why are you so confused, love?" he asked, furrowing his brow.

"I … I thought you were going to insist we not try after all," I said stupidly.

"But … why would I ever do that?" He was clearly confused at my reaction.

"Well, I already married you," I said slowly, "so _your_ condition has already been met. The leverage to get you to do what I want is gone."

"Oh Bella, he laughed, finally understanding my point, "I promised! I could never go back on a promise I made to you, you should know better than to think so!" He wrapped his arms around me, pulled me close, and kissed me. I closed my eyes and just breathed in his scent. Even though I knew what I had to do today, I couldn't begin to feel sad lying here in Edward's arms.

I stayed there, indulging myself with the moment for the longest time until finally I knew I couldn't put off my goodbyes any longer. Edward released me from the confines of his arms, and I rolled out of bed and grabbed my bag, headed for the bathroom. I washed my face, brushed my teeth, changed my clothes, and headed back to Edward's room. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking perfect and awaiting my return. I dropped my bag by the door and sank down on the edge of the bed next to him.

"Ready to call?" he asked, holding up his small silver phone.

"Call?" I asked, confused. I thought the plan had been for me to go to them. I still needed to retrieve a few final bags from Charlie's house.

"Well," Edward began passively, and I realized some planning had already occurred behind my back.

"Oh just say it," I sighed.

"Alice already went over to see Charlie this morning and she got your things for you. They're downstairs with the rest of your stuff."

"But, why-" I began, but Edward held a finger to my lips and I was immediately silenced.

"Alice needed to say _her_ goodbye, too."

For the first time I realized I was not the only one with difficult goodbyes. I felt a pang of guilt in my stomach remembering how very fond Alice and Charlie had become of each other. The Cullens were only able to stay in one place for so long, and with my impending transformation, their time in Forks was quickly coming to a close. I wasn't the only one bidding Forks farewell today.

"She'll be staying out of the way now," he added. "Everyone is going to leave you alone for your goodbyes."

"But you'll be… close by?" I whispered, the fear of what I was about to do sinking in once more.

"Yes, of course," he said giving my hand a squeeze. "And so will Jasper."

Finally, the reason for having the goodbyes here at the Cullen's sunk in; Jasper was going to try to keep all of the emotions under control. I couldn't quite decide how I felt about this; one the one hand, he would keep me from losing it. Charlie was going to realize that this was not a normal goodbye if I was too emotional to function. I needed to say everything I needed to say during my final time with my father, yet he couldn't know it was the end. In that regard, having Jasper around the corner would be good. On the other hand, I was really afraid that if he kept me under control, I would regret it later. If he kept me calm, would I later hate myself for letting our final goodbye be less emotional than it should be?

In the end, I decided Jasper _was_ a good idea; I had a feeling I was going to be so incredibly emotional that Jasper still probably couldn't keep me from crying. My emotions would definitely still be there no matter how hard he fought to control them so, in the end, it was the lesser of two evils. I was still going to be like a bull in a China shop; Jasper would just be moving the more important items out of my path of destruction. I would still be capable of doing real damage; I just wouldn't be breaking _everything._

I took the phone from Edward's outstretched hand and dialed my mother's cell phone first; I asked her to come over to the Cullen's around noon. She agreed, and said she and Phil were thinking about driving out to La Push to go for a walk along the beach to see the ocean, so they'd come over after that. After her, I gave Charlie a call at the station; he'd decided to go in for the morning to get some work done. He was still working hard to find Jacob. I wanted so badly to tell him that I knew for a fact that Jake was okay, but I knew I couldn't. As far as the rest of the world outside of La Push was concerned, he had taken off and wasn't coming back.

Charlie too assured me he'd be there to see me off at noon. That gave me about three hours to say one other goodbye: Angela. I wanted to see her first, before I got too emotional with my parents and couldn't bring myself to part with anyone else. She was the only one outside of the Cullen circle and the Quileutes that I really considered a friend here in Forks. I had spent some time with Jessica and the other girls, too, but I was just fine parting with them. Angela, on the other hand, I _was_ going to miss. She had always known exactly what to ask and when to ask it. She also knew when to stop, and would never consider prying into anything she thought she shouldn't. Jessica was always looking for gossip, but Angela was only ever looking to help.

I thought back on helping Angela address invitations in her bedroom and smiled; the only real girl talk I had ever had with anyone besides Renee. True, I had only been able to give her a tenth of the details, but still, it meant so much to me to sit on the floor in her bedroom, scrawling out invitations and chattering away about boys and what to do. My mother always said I had an "old soul" and it was refreshing to get away from that, if only for an hour or two, and to really embrace being a teenage girl. I knew I was going to miss Angela when I was changed, and I felt she was the only one to whom I owed a proper goodbye.

I dialed her house next, hoping that it wasn't too early; it was 8:30, but I didn't really want to spend anymore time sitting around, waiting for the inevitable. She answered after the second ring.

"Hello?" she answered, stifling a yawn.

"Oh no," I moaned, "Did I wake you? I'm so sorry, I can call back later!"

"No no, I just woke up," she insisted. "It's totally fine. What's up? Shouldn't you be heading off for your honeymoon soon?" she asked, sounding rather excited.

"Yeah, we're actually taking off tomorrow morning," I explained. "So anyway, I sort of wanted to say a proper goodbye before I left, so would you be interested in going out to breakfast?"

"Oh, yeah sure, that would be great! Is Edward coming along too?" she asked.

"Um…" I began, casting a look questioningly in Edward's direction. He shrugged, then nodded. "Yeah, if that's okay."

"Definitely!" she said cheerfully. "I'll bring Ben along too, it'll be fun! I'm sure he'd love to say goodbye as well."

"Great," I said. "How about we swing by and pick you up around 9 then."

"Okay, I'll call Ben and tell him to come on over here so you can pick us both up together."

"Great," I said again. "I'll see you soon!"

"Bye!" she said brightly, and I heard a click. I hung my phone up as well.

"You don't mind coming along, do you?" I asked Edward, leaning into his shoulder.

"Of course not," he purred, rubbing my arm. I leaned my head into his shoulder. We sat like that for a moment, neither talking nor moving, until the clock read 8:45, and I figured we should get going. We stood up together and headed down to the garage. I instinctively headed for my car, but Edward pulled me gently towards the Volvo instead. He opened my door and let me in, then too quickly to see made his way around the car and slid inside.

He headed down the drive and pulled onto the main road at a pretty fast clip. I glanced at the speedometer and read 75 miles an hour. I inhaled sharply and sighed; at this, Edward let off on the gas, and the car gradually slowed to 55.

"I can't go any slower than that, I really don't think my car could handle it," he laughed, and I did too. It was a rare occasion where I could get Edward anywhere near the proper speed limit, so getting him this far was practically a miracle and I wouldn't push it.

"Well, they're not expecting us for another ten minutes, the amount of time it would take a normal driver to get there, so I wouldn't go any faster." I chuckled.

"Oh, I could pull this car over for nine and a half, and still get us there in plenty of time," he purred, leaning over to whisper in my ear, taking his eyes off the road for the briefest of moments to look into my eyes. I melted, and he grinned his crooked smile. Then he reached down and grabbed my hand from the seat next to me, and began tracing circles on the back of it with his thumb. Maybe today wasn't going to be so bad after all; or not the morning anyway.

After a nice, leisurely drive (paining Edward the entire way), we pulled up to Angela's house where she and Ben were already seated on the front porch, holding hands and speaking softly to one another. They were so adorable together, and when they sat next to each other, Angela's long legs didn't make her a head taller than him. They looked really happy. At the sight of the Volvo, they jumped up and strolled hand in hand to the curb. Ben held Angela's door open for her, much like Edward did for me, then made his way around the car and got in himself.

"The Lodge, then?" I asked, turning around in the seat to look at them. They both smiled.

"Sounds awesome!" said Ben, enthusiastically. It reminded me of the time he had come home from a movie and was explaining every graphic scene in vivid detail for Angela. His intensity was endearing, but sometimes I wondered how Angela could take him in anything but small doses. His enthusiasm must have complimented her quiet poise perfectly.

We chit chatted about nothing in particular all the way to the restaurant, and when we arrived, we headed inside and grabbed a booth. I sat on the inside, next to Edward and across from Angela. The waitress took our orders (Edward claiming to have eaten breakfast before I had even woken up that morning to avoid placing an order) and headed off to the kitchen.

"So you're married," Angela said, smiling. "Is it weird?"

"Well, I don't suppose I could've done much better," I laughed, giving Edward a looking over. "Though, who knows… had Jasper been available when I moved to Forks…" Angela and Ben laughed, but Edward just rolled his eyes at me. "But no, it's pretty wonderful," I said, smiling and giving Edward's hand a squeeze.

"Can I see your ring?" Angela asked, eyeing it in awe. I slipped it off my finger and handed it over. She and I spent quite a while discussing it, while Edward and Ben talked about cars; Ben wanted to see what the Volvo could really do, and Edward seemed to be promising him a fun ride home.

The meal passed rather quickly, but it was really enjoyable. I was sad when it drew to a close, and we found ourselves headed to the car. Edward sped to the house as fast as the car would take him. I didn't dare look at the speedometer.

"Does he always drive like this?" Angela asked, eyes bulging.

I nodded and rolled my eyes. "Sorry. At least it'll be over quickly," I laughed, and I was right. In no time at all we were screeching to a halt in front of Angela's house. Edward walked around the car and opened my door for me, but Ben was so excited by the ride that he completely ignored Angela and dashed out of the car, jumping up and down in excited circles around Edward, asking to see the engine.

Angela and I laughed and stood on the curb, watching the boys.

"Well, this is it," Angela said with a passive smile.

"Yeah," I muttered, looking at my feet. "I'm gonna miss you so much. You're the only one aside from the Cullens that I consider to be a real friend in Forks. It's gonna be so weird not having you around."

"Aww, thanks Bella," Angela said modestly. "I'm gonna miss you, too!"

For a strange moment, we just looked at each other; then at about the same moment, we both reached out for a hug and laughed. We hugged, and Angela gave me a quick squeeze. "Just promise you'll write every once in a while," she said with a smile.

"Of course," I said, taking a step back.

"Okay Ben," Angela called, "they have a lot to do today, leave Edward's car alone." Everyone laughed, and Ben frowned, sighed, and walked over to join Angela on the walk way. Edward walked towards my door and pulled it open, so I strolled towards it. "Have a wonderful honeymoon!" Angela beamed at us.

"Thanks, I'll write you all about it!" I replied. Then I sat down, and Edward shut my door and made his way to the driver's side. As we pulled away, I waved my final goodbye, sighed, and sank back in my seat. Edward grabbed my hand.

"That went well," he said simply.

"Yeah, it did," I agreed, happy yet sad at the same moment. He sped the Volvo back towards the mansion, and I closed my eyes, thinking about the goodbyes to come. I would handle them like this one, I decided. I could say everything I needed to say, yet still keep a smile on my face. Just in case, I would still have Jasper standing by, thinking happy thoughts.

The rest of the morning flew by in no time at all, and soon Charlie, Renee, and Phil were pulling up to the house in their respective cars. A lump caught in my throat at the sight of them, but a moment later I was completely relaxed, all tension gone. I made a mental note to thank Jasper later if I could remember.

"Hey Bells," Charlie called, walking up the front steps. Renee and Phil were a step behind him, both beaming at me.

"Ready for your honeymoon?" Renee asked, grinning. Charlie gulped. "Need any pointers, or-"

"Stop that." Charlie cut her off. "I don't want to hear that about my only daughter."

Everyone laughed, and it broke the tension of the moment. After a moment, Renee began to fidget.

"Is everything okay, Mom?" I asked, knowing in my head I should be concerned but feeling only completely relaxed.

"Oh yes, it's just… our flight leaves at three," she explained. "So I was hoping this wouldn't be too long."

"Oh, sorry!" I exclaimed, "I didn't know! We could've met earlier!" I regretted that my goodbye with my mother would need to be cut so short, but I really wasn't sure how to go about saying it anyway. "Thanks for everything," I said, pulling her into a tight hug. "You too, Phil," I added as a polite after-thought. I still didn't really know Phil all that well, but I was still never going to see him alive again.

"Write often!" she said cheerfully, pulling out of the hug. I reluctantly released her. "Bye Charlie," she said politely, nodding her head at him. Then she grabbed Phil's hand and headed for the car. "Have a wonderful time!"

Charlie and I waved them off, and then turned towards each other with an awkward silence. I had spent so much less time with Charlie than with Renee, yet this was still somehow so much harder than it had been with her.

"Well, this is goodbye," I said with a nervous chuckle.

"I knew I was going to be losing you soon," Charlie said smiling, but sighing at the same time.

"I'll write and call often," I promised, not sure how true to my word I would be able to be. Another awkward silence followed. "Look, Cha- Dad," I began, not knowing how to say this without making an emotional fool of myself, knowing fully well that neither of us did well with emotions.

"I just want to thank you for everything. I was less than enthusiastic when I moved here to Forks, and I know I made life down right miserable for a while." My voice broke and I gulped, refusing to think back on those months when Edward was gone. "I'm so glad I got a chance to live here with you. I can't express what it's meant to me for the chance to do so."

Charlie smiled, tearing up a bit. "I'm glad you enjoyed it here, Bells. I'm sorry about the uh, rough patches, but overall I'd say we've had a pretty good run." He chuckled. Another awkward pause. God, Charlie and I were really racking them up today. Finally, he pulled me in for a hug. "Have a good time, sweetheart," he said, uncharacteristically emotional. "Take care of yourself, and make sure you write your dear old dad once in a while." We both laughed, and he released me. Just then, Edward walked out onto the porch.

"Chief Swan," he said with a smile, extending his hand.

Charlie took it and shook it firmly. "Now, you take good care of my girl, Edward," he said with a laugh.

"She's in good hands," Edward reassured him, wrapping an arm around my waist.

Charlie turned to head towards the car, and we followed him. He got in, started the engine, rolled down the window, and leaned out. "Have a great time you two," he said, smiling.

"Thanks, Dad," I replied, not quite returning the smile.

He pulled up and looped around us, heading back down the drive the way he'd come. We both waved until his car was out of sight.

"You did it," Edward said with a smile. I simply nodded. I was afraid my hysterics of yesterday were going to set in again, but somehow, they didn't. I had gotten through my goodbyes, and miraculously I seemed to be at peace with it all. "Now, tomorrow is when the fun begins," Edward said with a grin, dragging me towards the door. Alice was waiting just on the other side.

"Bella, let's go!" she exclaimed, dragging me towards the dining room. It was currently playing host to all of my possessions, since the room was mostly for show anyway.

"What now, Alice?" I asked, not knowing the answer but dreading it all the same.

"We've got to get you packed!" she squealed, grabbing a huge empty suitcase and rifling through my things. "I've picked you a different outfit for each day of your honeymoon (newly purchased from some of my favorite designers) and I need you to try them all on before we can pack them away!"

I rolled my eyes. "Sure," I laughed, giving it. I might as well just let her have her fun; it was so much easier than fighting her. I allowed her to dress me like an overgrown doll; my mind was elsewhere, thinking about what exciting things tomorrow would bring.

--

That's it! Once again, thanks for sticking with it, PLEASE review, when you don't review I think you don't like it and it's very discouraging. The action is coming up really soon, and I have a feeling Chapter 9 is going to be appearing very soon because I'm gonna have a lot of fun writing it. Thanks everyone (review!!)


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Nine

**A/N**: Hope you guys liked the last chapter - I hope you had a chance to read it already! Well... obviously you would've read chapter 8 before 9... wow, I'm a genius. Point being, less than 24 hours passed between me posting the last chapter and this one - HOORAY!! I'm sure you're all celebrating too, you were probably expecting along long, chapterless week before I got to it, but here it is! The action begins, woohoo!! As always, read and review! I'll get another chapter up soon.

**Disclaimer**: Not Stephenie Meyer... I only own a character if you don't recognize it from the Twilight series.

Chapter Nine

The following morning I rolled out of Edward's big bed to find a note in his perfect calligraphy:

_Bella,_

_I had to step out to take care of a few last minute details. I'll be back soon, but in the mean time, please get yourself prepared for the day. You'll find certain toiletries in the bathroom (toothbrush, tooth paste, brush, etc.) and you may use them and then throw them away: Alice has already taken it upon herself to pack yours away for the trip. She's also waiting impatiently downstairs to cook you a big going away breakfast; a "last meal," if you will. Go crazy, I'm sure she could cook anything you ask to perfection. I'll be back very soon._

_Love,_

_Edward_

I read through the note a few times and then made my way to the bathroom. Once I had cleaned myself up and dressed, I headed down to the kitchen as instructed. I walked in to find Alice sitting up on the counter next to the sink, wearing a "Bite the Cook" apron and laughed.

"You like?" she asked, hopping down and twirling to show off the apron.

"Cute," I said.

"So – what can I make you for breakfast?" she asked excitedly.

"Well, I usually just have cereal," I began, a little unsure, not wanting her to have to cook for me at all.

"If you're not going to decide, I'm going to make you a little of everything," she insisted, and before I could react, she was flying all over the kitchen. She prepared so many dishes so fast that my eyes literally could not keep up with her. I sighed and leaned back in defeat, watching her blur around the room in a frenzy of pots and pans.

Carlisle walked in, glanced around the room clearly amused, and sat across from me at the table. "You let her make you breakfast?" he mused.

"More like she insisted, and can't be stopped," I said helplessly, to which he laughed.

"Yes, it's best not to interrupt Alice when she gets it in her head that she's going to do something." We both watched Alice in silence for a moment. "So, you're all prepared then?" he asked, father-like concern in his voice.

"Yes she is!" Alice exclaimed for me. "There isn't a single thing she could ever possibly _think_ of needing that I haven't already packed for her."

"That's not exactly what I meant, Alice," he said rather sternly. She furrowed her brow for a moment, and then her eyebrows lifted dramatically with comprehension. She mouthed a silent "ohhh," then turned back around to her cooking.

"I don't understand," I said, with a questioning look.

"Well, you know it's going to be painful," he began. Oh. That's what he was talking about. "I gave Edward a _lot_ of morphine to give you, but to be perfectly honest I have no clue whether your body will respond to it, given the type of pain you'll be experiencing." I gulped and nodded. "We also considered whether multiple bites would speed up the transformation process, but again, I don't think it will. In my experience, it's still three days, whether you've been bitten once or a hundred times."

Just then, Alice bustled over to the table, laying out a vast array of dishes; pancakes, eggs cooked in dozens of different ways, French toast, bacon, sausages, ham, toast, a dozen sorts of cereal, home fries, hash browns, milk, orange juice, water, apple juice, Eggos, Pop tarts, toaster pastries, all kinds of fruits and vegetables… I couldn't think of a single breakfast food that _wasn't_ on the table.

"So, you're ready?" Carlisle pressed on, ignoring Alice.

I breathed in deeply and closed my eyes, reflecting. I knew it was going to be painful, but I was certain it would be worth it. I opened my eyes, and looked at Carlisle. "Yes," I said confidently, with a nod. "I'm ready."

"Good," he smiled. "Now go ahead, dig in."

I really wasn't all that hungry, but a glance at Alice, standing eagerly by waiting to see how I liked it made me scoop a little bit of everything within reach onto my plate. It was all _amazing,_ she really had outdone herself. I thanked her and she beamed back at me.

Just then, Edward came in and sat beside me. I smiled and set my fork down. I was going to ask him about his morning, when he leaned and whispered in my ear, "Better grab a French toast stick. Alice is wondering what's wrong with them, why you haven't touched them yet."

"Oops," I said stupidly, grabbing one and popping it into my mouth in an extremely ungraceful fashion. Alice scowled at Edward, knowing what he'd said. "Alice, really, everything is amazing!" I assured her. "It's just a lot of food for one girl."

Thankfully, she laughed. "Sorry," she said sheepishly, "I just wanted you to have options!"

After I finished all of Alice's breakfast that I could handle, it was time for Edward and I to leave. Finally, we'd be getting to the part I was waiting desperately for months for: he was going to bite me and change me, and I was going to get my "human experience" too. The plan was for us to drive up to a rather deserted place in the far north of Canada, where we'd have our honeymoon and he'd change me. After a week or so, we'd be joining the rest of the Cullens in their Canadian home. Edward had informed me that they have homes in very remote locations all over the world and move around from time to time as the need facilitates. The location of this particular house was at least 20 miles from any humans, so I couldn't possibly be tempted.

We said goodbye to Alice, Jasper, Esme, Carlisle, Rosalie, and Emmett, promising we'd see them in about a week or so. We piled into the Volvo (Emmett had packed it up for us while I was having breakfast) and took off. We rode north for a few hours until I couldn't hold it anymore; Alice had given me a _lot_ to drink that morning. Edward pulled off to a small diner, and we both got out of the car.

"I'll be right back," I promised, "I'm just going to run to the bathroom."

Edward looked at me critically and inhaled deeply. "Something feels very wrong," he said uneasily, taking a step towards me.

"Don't be silly," I laughed, jogging off towards the bathroom.

"If anyone on the planet could get themselves in trouble going to the bathroom, it _would_ be you," he called after me in all seriousness.

I shook my head with a laugh and grabbed the door handle to go inside. Suddenly, before I could so much as blink, I found myself pinned against the dumpster.

"What…?" I began weakly, the wind knocked out of me. I thought Edward had tackled me playfully, but when I focused my eyes upon my captor, I gasped in horror.

It was _Jane_.

My eyes groped the parking lot for Edward; he was being held captive by Aro and another vampire I did not recognize, with one on each arm. He writhed in pain, and I glanced at Jane whose eyes were fixed coldly on him. I realized she was the one hurting him.

"Let him go!" I screamed, but it was muffled as I realized Jane had one hand pressed firmly over my mouth. I began to squirm, but relaxed when I realized there was no point anyway; I was no match for her strength, not yet anyway.

"Quiet," she said to me harshly.

Suddenly, Edward stopped writhing, and stood weakly, with both men still holding him tightly between them. "Let her go," he hissed ferociously under his breath.

"Not yet," she said. "We need to talk first."

I didn't understand what was going on. I took Edward's unease about our stop to mean that he'd sensed them, but why didn't he know what they were planning? Why didn't Alice warn us, hadn't she been keeping an eye on the Volturi for this very reason? Why hadn't Edward heard their thoughts? He looked like he was wondering the exact same things.

They led us around the side of the diner down a dark and deserted alleyway. I shuddered from the cold; I had left my warmer coat on the seat of the car. We had had the heat on, and I only anticipated running to the bathroom and back so I hadn't seen a need to put it back on.

Finally, Jane spun us around to face Edward and the others, still about ten feet apart, probably as a precaution that we didn't get too close. "Why is she still human?" she asked. "We've allowed you ample time to make the arrangements and get it done with, yet here she still stands, alive as ever."

"We're on our way _right now_," Edward pleaded wide-eyed. "Our wedding was two days ago, and there's just one more thing we were going to take care of! It's all planned for this very afternoon."

"Well, Edward," Aro said from beside him, still gripping his arm firmly, "I'm afraid you said it would be taken care of the last time we saw you, and you lied."

"I _didn't_ lie!" Edward growled angrily, narrowing his eyes. "It's going to happen _today_!"

"Yes, yes it is," Aro agreed, "Because we're going to do it ourselves."

"NO!" Edward screamed, eyes growing wider. He struggled to free himself. What they were saying was beginning to sink in, and my terror grew. They were going to change me themselves? It was a comfort that they weren't here to _kill_ me, but still, once bitten, what were they going to do with me?

"Bella will be in safe hands," Aro assured Edward with a sick smile. "I just want to see what she's capable of before I turn her back over to you. Jane, if you will?"

Jane let me go for a moment, and a hundred different methods of escape ran through my mind, but I knew they were all useless; Jane would catch me again before I'd moved more than a foot. I stood there watching helplessly as she walked towards Edward. She stared coldly at him and he writhed in pain once more; Aro let go of his arm for a moment, and Jane seized it. Her physical contact with him seemed to increase his pain.

"No!" I yelled, moving towards Edward, but instantly Aro was standing directly behind me.

"I wouldn't do that, Bella," he warned, grabbing each of my wrists from behind and pinning them to my sides. "Jane, dear," he said so sweetly it was sickening, "would you mind stopping for a moment? But hold him tight… he's going to fight once he sees this, but I wouldn't want him to miss it." His face twisted into a sick grin.

Edward seemed to gain control of himself again, but he was weakened. He struggled to lift his head, but managed to raise it enough to look me in the eyes. With horror, I saw the same expression his face had contained when he realized James had bitten me. Aro turned out to be right: a look of comprehension dawned on Edward's face and he fought ferociously to free himself from their grasp but it was useless.

"Now, Edward, stop that," Aro scolded playfully. "If you're struggling, you're going to miss it!" I still didn't understand what Edward was going to miss, but I was terrified. Where were they going to take me? Back to Italy? I hoped they would try to take me that far before biting me; maybe then Edward would have time to rally his family and help me.

"Now Bella," Aro asked. "How do you feel about your neck?"

"I like it _in tact_," I spat more ferociously than I knew I was capable of. I was surprised at my composure; I was so terrified, I didn't think the words would really come out.

"Ah, well, you'll have a pretty little scar to match that one there, but it will still be in tact," he said with a smile, nodding towards the scar I had on the back of my hand from James. Suddenly, I realized I wasn't going to Italy: I was going to be bitten right here in this alley.

I struggled to free myself as Edward struggled against Jane and his other unknown captor, but neither of us succeeded. "This will only hurt for, well, a few days," Aro said with a sick grin. Still standing behind me, he bent down slowly, and sank his teeth into the flesh of my neck. I crumbled in pain as a burning sensation spread in all directions all over my body, radiating from the bite on my neck.

My knees grew week and I realized I was losing consciousness. The last things I remember are hearing Edward screaming my name over and over, Jane's laughter, and the burning sweeping through me, growing stronger and stronger until finally my mind gave in to the pain. I blacked out.

--

Well there it is, Chapter 9. I told you I'd get the adventure/excitement/suspense going!! PLEASE review, if no one reviews, I'm going to assume no one is reading! Until next time...


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Ten

**A/N: **sorry this took so long guys, it's been written for a day or two, but I had a friend read it over first, and he took a little longer than anticipated for him to get back to me haha... I really hope you all like it, I was so worried about whether or not it would go over well (ergo having him read it) but then he reminded me, I'm mostly writing this for me. I've decided at this point, no re-writing if people don't like it. I _will_ take any suggestions for further chapters into consideration, but it's staying how it is up to this point. That being said, I reallllllllllly hope you DO like it, and I'll get the next one up soon, I promise.

**Disclaimer****: ** not Stephenie Meyer ... if only.

Chapter Ten

Over the next three days, I fluttered into and out of consciousness. The pain was so consuming that it was the only thing I was aware of; I didn't know where I was, who was there, or how long it had been. I would be awake for no more than a few moments at a time before the pain overcame me and sent me back into a painful sleep.

After what seemed like an eternity of this horrible cycle, the pain slowly began to dull. At first I had thought that they'd done it wrong, and I really _was_ dying. Maybe Aro hadn't been able to resist and had just killed me after all. But the pain _was_ subsiding, and for the first time in days I was able to begin to collect my thoughts again. I decided to lie there for a while before opening my eyes. I still had no idea where I was, and it was only beginning to come back to me that I'd been kidnapped and bitten by Aro. Every fiber of my being wanted to panic, jump up from wherever I was and run away as fast as my legs would carry me, but for once in my life I forced myself to be calm and reasonable. I amazed myself in that I wasn't crying yet; then I realized, if I was, in fact, a vampire now, I _couldn't_ cry.

"Well, her heart stopped, and she's not breathing, so either she's actually dead, or she's one of us… but why isn't she _moving_?" I heard from Jane somewhere nearby. "I wish my power affected her, then we'd know whether it worked or not."

"I don't understand why I have to be here to watch her, I don't even know who she is," someone I didn't recognize spat bitterly. "She _is_ pretty though, I would've fought hard to protect her too, I think."

"Wake up, wake up, wake up already!" came from Aro.

Finally, I couldn't bear to just lie there anymore; I would have to get up eventually. I slowly opened my eyes and looked around. I was lying on a sofa in a small cabin somewhere, still in my clothes from a few days ago. I reached up and traced the small crescent-shaped scar on my neck, and looked around the room. The unknown vampire was standing near the door leaning against the wall in the opposite corner of the room, Aro was seated in a chair dragged uncomfortably close to the end of the sofa where my head was, and Jane stood, arms crossed and looking angry, near the other end of the sofa.

"You're awake, fantastic!" Aro said enthusiastically. "Now Bella, dear, how are you feeling?"

I shrank back against the couch as far as I could from him without putting myself too close to Jane standing at the other end. Why was he being so nice to me? He had just kidnapped and bitten me! Of course, I remembered this enthusiasm of his from Italy, but didn't really expect it here. I looked up at Aro, wide-eyed.

"Oh no, she's frightened," I heard from him, but wait…his lips hadn't moved. He was … thinking it? Was I really hearing his thoughts? But, this was _Edward's_ ability, not mine! How was I possibly hearing his thoughts? Perhaps I had been hearing thoughts when I first woke up as well… it made more sense that the things I had heard would've been personal thoughts and not spoken aloud.

I looked to Jane next; she rolled her eyes, clearly bored. _Well, say something you idiot_, she thought. Instinctively, I knew that this ability was something I needed to keep from them. After all, this was why they kidnapped me, right? They wanted to know what I'd be capable of… maybe they wanted to force me to join them like they'd tried with Alice and Edward back in Italy. Well, Edward had already mentioned that sometimes vampires didn't have extra powers at all, right? It was possible that I would be completely ordinary with nothing impressive about me.

But what were their powers, again? Jane could cause pain, I remembered; though I'd never experienced this first hand, I didn't think I'd ever forget seeing Edward's face when she'd done it to him. Aro… what could he do? I thought hard back to Italy, and remembered him asking permission to touch me… but why? I thought hard for a moment, and it came back to me: he could hear thoughts, too, but he needed physical contact to do it. That's why he was so desperate for Edward: Edward could hear from a distance.

_Why am I even _here_? _The new vampire I didn't know thought from the corner by the door. I wondered the same thing. What could _he _do? It bothered me not knowing.

I turned back to Aro. Several minutes had passed, and he was growing impatient. _If she's not going to talk, I guess I'm just going to have to _make_ her. _He took a step towards me, and I inched farther from him.

"What do you want?" I asked, finally. "What am I _doing_ here? What have you done with Edward?" Suddenly, the questions began pouring out of me and I found it difficult to stop. "Who are _you_?" I added, turning to the man standing in the corner. However, when I finally looked him over, the term "man" hardly seemed appropriate. He barely looked older than me, with pale blonde hair to match his skin, and intense red eyes. He looked startled that I had addressed him specifically.

"This is Robert," Aro said dismissively with a wave of his hand, "but that's not important right now. How are you feeling?" he repeated calmly.

"I'm… fine," I said slowly, and it dawned on me, I was _perfect_. By the icy coating on the window, I could tell that the temperature outside must've been below zero, and this cabin had neither heat nor a fire going, but I was perfectly content, neither hot nor cold. My skin had a pearly shine to it, and my hair felt perfectly soft and smooth. Physically, I felt more perfect than I ever had in my life. Mentally, my head was still swimming.

I sat in silence for a moment, drinking it all in, and straightening out the facts in my head. "Bella," Aro began politely, "you've already proven that our powers don't work on you, so you're going to need to _tell_ me what you're thinking."

I mulled it over for a moment. "I want… answers. And a drink," I said finally.

"Well, the drink's going to have to wait a bit; there isn't anyone for quite some distance, so we're going to have to take care of that in a while. But answers… answers I _can_ give you: to an extent."

"'Isn't anyone'…" I repeated slowly, and the horror sunk in. I was thirsting for _blood_. I couldn't drink _blood_! I fainted at the _sight_ of blood. "No, no, you don't understand," I tried to explain, "I couldn't, there's no way…"

"Bella, what did you expect to happen when you changed?" Aro asked incredulously, chuckling to himself. "Did you think you'd keep eating cheeseburgers and drinking diet cokes forever? It doesn't work that way," he said, shaking his head.

I was dumbstruck. How could I have ever been so stupid? I had never once considered the issue of drinking blood. I was so desperate to be immortal, perfect, and unbreakable for Edward I'd never considered the issue of my diet. Had Edward? Surely he would've, and he would've brought this to my attention! Maybe he had, and my queasiness didn't concern him; maybe I _could_ handle it, if it wasn't _human_. Maybe the instinctive need for it would take over, and it wouldn't bother me anymore.

"I can't… not…" I stammered, unable to form a coherent sentence. _Bella, pull yourself together_, I thought to myself. _You're not a weak little human anymore! You're a strong, stunning vampire; you're a force to be reckoned with. Now say what you want to say, but don't be weak anymore!_

"It can't be human," I said with confidence, not allowing myself to be afraid anymore.

"Oh but of course," Jane spat bitterly, "of course she would follow that ridiculous trend they have of not preying on normal targets."

"Well, Bella," Aro said, "we don't catch animals, so I'm afraid you're going to have to do what we say." His voice was polite, but dangerous at the same time.

"Then I won't drink anything at all," I said stubbornly, pulling my knees up to my chest and wrapping my arms protectively around them. I felt childish, but there was no way I was going to sacrifice a human life to sustain myself. I had to be strong; if not for me, at least for Edward.

"Your thirst will overcome you soon enough," Aro said with a shrug, "so we won't worry about that just yet. You said you wanted answers?"

"Where's Edward?" I hissed, too impatient for answers to bother with the pleasantries Aro was attempting.

"Ah…Edward," he said slowly. "Of course he would be your first concern. Don't worry about Edward."

"The hell I won't," I growled, and my determination completely replaced any fear left in me. "Where. Is. Edward." I articulated each word in a fierce growl.

Aro sighed. "Robert, if you please," he said, almost bored, nodding his head in my direction. Robert pushed himself away from the wall with his elbows, and began walking towards me.

"Don't touch me," I spat at him, but he didn't listen. As he came closer, my anger grew. What was he going to do, try to restrain me? It seemed that way; when he was about two feet from me, he reached his arms forward as if to grab me. Without thinking, I reached forward and put both hands on his chest and pushed as hard as I could. I meant to only knock him back a few feet away from me; instead, I sent him flying backwards through the cabin wall, leaving a hole the shape of his body in the wood.

I gasped and put my hands over my mouth; I forgot that I would be strong now, even stronger than any of them since I was a newborn.

"Now we have to relocate!" Jane hissed at me. "We can't stay here with a hole in the wall."

"Is he okay?" I asked timidly. I didn't like being held captive, but I wasn't looking to hurt anyone, either.

_Of course he's okay you idiot_, Jane thought, rolling her eyes. "He's fine."

_Oh if she weren't so pretty I'd rip her head off right now, _Robert thought from outside.

I sank down onto the couch behind me, pulled my knees to my chest, put my head down, and closed my eyes. How was I going to get myself out of this? I still had no clue where Edward was or what they'd done to him, and I had no idea what the Volturi had in store for me. Would they release me if I could manage to convince them that there was nothing special about me?

Perhaps if I had kept my wits about me a little better, I would've sensed Aro and Jane moving in on either side of me. I would've realized that, given my strength, I could probably make my escape since I wasn't restrained. However, all I could think about was Edward and how I would get back to him, so I didn't realize until it was too late that Jane and Aro were positioned on either side of me, ready to pounce.

They dove at me quickly, and I wasn't yet accustomed to my reflexes to react in time to throw them off. They pinned me down and held me so that I couldn't move.

"We need to relocate, and we can't risk you running away until we've figured out what you can do," Aro explained. "Now, even with your extraordinary newborn strength, we are still more than capable of holding you, so you can make this easy or difficult."

"Well I wouldn't want to inconvenience my kidnappers," I spat sarcastically at them, rolling my eyes.

"The more difficult you make it, the longer it will be until you see Edward again, make no mistake of that," he said fiercely, and the polite façade he'd been keeping up vanished instantly.

I stopped fighting for a moment to think things over. "Fine," I said after a moment. "I won't fight, or attempt to run or anything like that," I began, and Aro's eyes flashed with delight, "If you can _promise_ me that nothing will happen to Edward, or any of the rest of them. If you can guarantee they'll be okay, I'll do anything you ask… short of promising to join you in Italy," I added hastily. I quickly thought over any possible loopholes, and couldn't find any.

"We're not as terrible as you think," Aro said, eyeing me. "We choose to lead a different lifestyle than your friends, but that doesn't mean we're monsters."

"You _kill people_," I said, incredulously. "How does that make you anything _less_ than a monster?"

"You'll see the light soon enough," he said simply. "Now, you promised to cooperate, so let's go. We need to relocate to someplace more secure. Please don't try to run; we _will_ catch you if you do."

We stepped out into the frozen tundra, with Robert holding onto me as a precaution. He seemed more afraid to be thrown through another wall than anything, and his grip wasn't very tight. The thought of making a run for it occurred, but several things stopped me; I had no idea where I was, they _would_ catch me, I was certain, and I was afraid that if I went back on my word, they would no longer guarantee Edward's safety.

We walked on for a while, Aro leading the way, Robert and I following, and Jane bringing up the rear, until we came to a shiny black jeep with dark tinted windows. Aro walked over to the left back passenger seat and opened the door, nodding his head towards it and beckoning me in. I slid in, Robert still gripping my left arm; suddenly, I realized he was following me in, and I kept sliding to the middle. Jane had already made her way around the car and she slid in on my other side. There wasn't much room in the backseat. Aro got into the front, started the car, and hit the door lock button.

"Well this is cozy," I mumbled sarcastically, crossing my arms.

"Sorry, Bella," Aro apologized, turning around to look at me. "As much as we'd like to believe that you actually won't run, we can't take any chances. Jane, if you will?"

I turned to Jane to see her pulling a long black scarf out of her coat pocket.

"What-?" I began, but then realized I was being blindfolded.

"Oh is that necessary?" I asked, exasperated. I was surprising myself a lot. This tone of voice, the lack of fear to the point of sarcasm, it wasn't me. Had my transformation really left me with such little fear left? Normally, I'd be terrified, sobbing to myself and shaking hysterically, but now all I felt was annoyance and inconvenience. I wasn't concerned about what they would do to me; somehow, I knew nothing was going to harm me. I was just annoyed that I couldn't be with Edward. He had told me enough about the Volturi that I should be very afraid, but I just couldn't bring myself to be.

She tied the scarf around my head, and I sat in silence for the ride. It surprised me how little anyone was thinking. I would've thought that my ability was selective if not for Robert practically screaming thoughts about me inside my own head. I heard Jane and Aro from time to time, but on the whole, it was mostly Robert I was hearing. _This must be what it's like for Edward to be around Jessica_, I thought, chuckling to myself. _Stop thinking about me! _ I screamed at Robert inside my head.

_Oh my God!_ I heard from him. _Are you… are you inside my head?_ He asked.

_What? How could he know that I heard him?_ I thought frantically to myself. Was it possible that I not only _heard_ thoughts, but I could make people hear mine, too? I concentrated hard on Robert, and thought, _Robert! … blue banana._

_Blue… what the hell?_ I heard back.

Oh my god. I could. How was this happening? I thought these abilities were human traits magnified, isn't that what Edward had said? I had _two _abilities, and I wasn't sure how either of them played into how I had been as a human. True, Edward had always been surprised at how observant and perceptive I was, but I never imagined I'd be able to both hear and implant thoughts on people!

Unfortunately, now Robert was aware of my ability to do so. I decided to take advantage of the part of Robert's mind that held a place for me. _Robert?_ I thought. _Can you hear this?_

_Yes_, he thought tentatively, _can you hear me?_

_Yes. Now, please, Aro and Jane can't know that I can do this. I'm just discovering all I can do myself. I don't know what they'll do to me when they find out, but it can't be anything good. PLEASE don't let them know_, I begged in my head. _They can't know about this._

_Do you have any idea what they'll do to me if they find out I _kept_ it from them? _He asked, seriously worried.

_Please, _I begged again,_ please help me… don't let them know._

Robert thought for a moment over all the different gruesome possibilities his betrayal could bring about, but finally, he agreed, _okay… I won't tell them. But when Edward finally frees you – because he will – you have to help me get out of here, too_.

I was startled. _You don't_ want_ to be here? _

_No,_ he thought. _Apparently my ability is like that of some girl, Amy, or Andrea, or- _

_Alice!_ I practically screamed_._

_Yeah, that's the one. She has premonitions?_

_Yes! Is that why they brought you along?_

_Yeah. But I need physical contact to see them, much like Aro's mind-reading ability. They would prefer this Alice girl, but he said I would do until she could be persuaded._

So kidnapping me _was_ a ploy to get to Alice and Edward; it wasn't just about what I might be able to do for them.

_So wait!_ I thought, excited,_ you said Edward _will_ rescue me?_

_Well, as you know from this Alice, these things aren't set in stone, but yes, when I was restraining Edward back at that diner, he was quite determined to come after you. It's curious, because I saw him with his coven, but they weren't alone. They were with … others. I almost want to say wolves, but that's ridiculous._

_Oh my God! _I screamed in my head. _Jake! The Quileutes! _

_Whoa, wait a minute, I wasn't wrong? There _were_ wolves?_

_YES! My friends! _

_Whoa… that's wicked,_ he thought.

_Don't worry, they'll get us out of this, _I thought. I crossed my arms and my legs confidently. All I had to do was hide my abilities from Aro and Jane for a while. Then Edward, Jacob, and the rest of my family would come find me, I just knew it. I only hoped that Robert's vision would happen as clearly as he said it would. I sat in silence for the remainder of the ride, thinking of all the possibly ways they could rescue me, hoping they would, in fact, come for me, and soon.

--

That's it! i hope you enjoyed it, remember, CONSTRUCTIVE criticism please, and I need feedback on one thing - do you guys want this all from Bella's point of view, or would you like to see what Edward is up to? Your opinions on the subject will be SERIOUSLY considered before I continue writing. Thanks!!


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Eleven

A/N: here it is, chapter 11! sorry it took a bit, i was still thinking it through haha... please leave reviews with ideas of what you wanna see! I mean, I've got it mostly planned out, but nothing is set in stone. PLEASE REVIEW and tell me what you think!!

**Disclaimer**: not Stephenie Meyer, don't own Twilight...

Chapter Eleven

Edward's POV

I watched Bella's shocked face as Aro's teeth sunk into her neck, fighting with all my strength to help her, but unable to move. "Let her go!" I screamed, agonized. I would suck the venom out just like I had with James. She wanted me to bite her myself, and if it were in any way possible for me to do so, I would do it. I struggled to free myself, but Jane and the other male held me tight; I was amazed at the strength she displayed, because, given her size, I wouldn't have thought it possible for her to hold me as steadfast as she did.

Helplessly, I watched Bella's face contort in pain. It killed me every second. "Edward," she said weakly, crumpling in Aro's hold. "Burns, it… burns," she muttered barely audibly. She wouldn't remember any of this; I didn't think she was even conscious of the fact that she was speaking now.

"It's okay, love," I choked out, knowing she'd never hear the words but feeling the need to speak them, regardless. Aro scooped Bella's unconscious – yet still moaning in pain – body up into his arms and carried her around the side of the building and away. "Let her go!" I screamed again, pleading, though I knew through his thoughts that Aro had already run quite some distance with her to a car to make me lose her scent.

"You'll see her again," Jane said maliciously, "we just need to take care of some things without your interference first."

The other male held my arm tight, but was clearly uncomfortable with his involvement. _I still don't understand why I had to come,_ he thought, helplessly. _I don't know either of these two, or that other girl Aro mentioned, I don't see why they couldn't send along someone else. I haven't been able to do anything useful thus far, except holding this guy here. _

He wasn't even aware of the situation, I realized. Somehow, this would _have_ to work to our advantage. He wasn't happy to be involved, which meant that maybe his loyalty could be swayed, should the opportunity arise. I stopped struggling for a moment, realizing that with every second Aro was running further and further with Bella, but there was nothing I could do. From what I gathered from Jane's and this boy's thoughts, Aro was going to run and drive alternately, so that their trail would be almost impossible to follow.

"Your name?" I said, turning to address him.

_What's he up to?_ Jane thought.

The boy looked startled at my addressing him directly. "Oh um, Robert," he said, looking at my quizzically. _Why does he want to know my name?_ He thought.

"Don't forget, he's in your head," Jane said, aggravated.

_In my head?_ Robert thought, clueless. "What do you mean, 'in my head'?" he asked. Jane gasped.

_Aro, the fool, did he not tell the boy of Edward's ability? What if he's been giving away details of the plan!_

"No more than you have," I said, answering her subconscious. She gasped, narrowed her eyes, and glared at me.

"If only he would let me kill you," she said, shaking her head. She let out a huff of air, and her nostrils flared. "He can read thoughts," she said to Robert, "and he doesn't need physical contact like Aro to do it."

Robert gasped, and I heard a thousand different thoughts begin to run through his head. _Oh no, I can't even remember everything I've been thinking about, what if I gave stuff away? What if he heard me thinking about how pretty she is? What if he just heard me think _that_?? It's so hard to empty your mind when you suddenly know someone is hearing it!_

"Relax," I said out of pity. "Oh, and trust me, I've heard way worse thoughts about Bella," I muttered, rolling my eyes. Suddenly, everything snapped back into place. Bella. Aro was still running off with her. I needed to get away from these two, and fast. I contemplated running after Bella myself, but it would be like trying to distinguish one grain of sand on an entire beach; I would have to just choose somewhere to start, and examine each one carefully. There were no clues to lead me in the right direction, and no way to know if I was getting closer or just putting more distance between us. In the end, the best plan was to go home, regroup with my family, and come up with a plan.

"So, let's say I play along with this plan of yours," I began slowly, looking to Jane. She seemed much more in control of the situation than Robert, who seemed to be afraid of me more than anything. "What comes next?"

"Well, never in a million years would I believe that you're really going to just sit back quietly while Aro runs off with your little girlfriend," she said, a sick grin on her face.

"Wife," I interjected.

"Wife. Whatever. Anyway, because I don't believe you, we're going to follow through with our plan, regardless of how you choose to behave."

"Which means?"

I didn't think it was possible, but her grin actually grew larger. "Pain," she said simply.

I narrowed my eyes, but then comprehension sunk in. Of course. Jane holding me in indefinite pain for as long as she could was the only way for them to keep me in one place for any given amount of time. I grimaced, and suddenly felt waves of pain washing over me. It was so unbearable that I could no longer stand. I crumpled to my knees, moaning in agony. Jane released my arm and stepped back a few feet to keep her eyes fixed on me. Robert kept a hold on my upper arm, but he needn't have bothered. The pain was so crippling that I wasn't going to be moving anywhere as long as Jane held her gaze on me.

I don't know how long I was lying there, writhing in pain, but at some point Robert had released my arm, and I fell all the way to the ground. I stayed there in agony until, quite suddenly, the pain stopped. I opened my eyes and looked up; a bus boy had emerged from the diner with a few bags of trash, making his way to the dumpster. I could see that night had fallen; it had been hours since Aro left with Bella. The sudden banging open of the diner's side door had distracted Jane enough that she released me for the moment.

She spun around to face the poor bus boy, probably only around fourteen years old, and he dropped the trash bags, bewildered. Not wanting to lose my opportunity for escape, I didn't watch to see what she did. I grabbed Robert's wrist, and pulled myself to my feet.

"Help us!" I hissed in his ear, before dashing around the corner of the building and flying out of sight. I ran in the direction of Forks as fast as my feet would carry me; I decided to leave the car there. We had more than enough money for another one if I chose not to come back for it, and I could get home so much faster on foot.

Within half an hour, I was running up the familiar road to our Forks home. Waiting for me on the front porch was Alice, looking worried.

"Oh Edward, what happened?" she asked, hysterical. "As soon as you got to that little diner, I couldn't see you anymore! You all just disappeared! Then, I saw Bella being carried off somewhere by Aro, but I still couldn't see you! I saw you about 20 minutes ago, running through the woods. What happened?" she repeated.

I explained all that had happened. "He _bit_ her?" she asked, incredulous. "I can't believe they looked into the situation so quickly!"

"You say you couldn't see us?" I asked, confused. How was that possible? "There must be more to that boy than meets the eye."

"Is it possible he's hiding her?" Carlisle asked, suddenly standing in the front door way.

"Hiding her?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. I didn't understand.

"Well, I've come across a few vampires would could do it," he said slowly, as if choosing his words carefully. "It seems that, sometimes, someone who feels invisible or insignificant in their human life can sometimes carry that over, that ability to disappear. I wouldn't be surprised if he's got some other ability as well; people who don't stand out tend to be observant, or have other similar qualities. He might be able to read minds or something as well, but it's hard to say."

"But, hiding her, that doesn't make any sense!" I cried, frustrated and confused. "I heard his thoughts, he didn't even know why they brought him along; he was totally in the dark."  
"Maybe he's not aware of that particular ability yet," Carlisle said, "but I'm sure he must have it. The Volturi are powerful, and have means of discovering things. If he's with them, then it means someone must've seen him disappear."

"Seen him?" I asked.

"Yes, seen him," Carlisle said. "Quite often, the ability means that people like Alice can't recognize him clairvoyantly, but it also means that he can quite literally disappear. It's tied to his emotions of course. Perhaps he was near one of the Volturi and felt horribly self-conscious, so he literally disappeared. It's possible that he didn't even realize it was happening, but whoever saw him recognized the ability and brought him to Aro."

"So, it's like with the wolves," I stated, finally beginning to understand.

"I could never see Bella when she was with them!" Alice exclaimed, suddenly catching on as well. "The same applies for her now, with this Robert boy?"

"It would seem so, yes," Carlisle said.

"Finding her is going to be more difficult than I thought," I muttered.

"Yes, well, it'll be a few days until she's conscious anyway," Carlisle said, his face looking deeply remorseful. "I'm so sorry it had to happen this way, Edward," he said weakly. "I know that isn't how you wanted her to change, but it was going to happen anyway, right?"

"I suppose," I said, clenching my fists so tightly around the porch rails that I made perfect casts of my hands in the wood.

"Come on inside Edward," Alice said gently, placing a hand on my elbow. I released the railing spindles, and Alice slipped her hand into mine. She smiled weakly at me, and led me inside. "We'll figure something out, I promise."

We all sat around the large dining room table that we kept mostly for show, though no one ever came to call, and thought it out. Carlisle and Alice explained all that had happened thus far to the rest of the family. I didn't think I could bear to recount the details aloud once more; I was in total agony, sure that had I been human my heart would've given out on me long ago. The feelings of emptiness, loss, despair, and failure were my only company; I couldn't focus on anything real and tangible, my mind was only on Bella and how I had failed her.

Once everything had been explained, Jasper disappeared for a second, reappearing with maps: one was a huge map of North America, another a smaller, yet more detailed map of the Canadian provinces. "They'll take her north, I'm sure," Jasper began, leaning over the map and eyeing it strategically. "Can we assume that we'll be able to sense her if we come within a certain distance of her?" He turned to Carlisle for an answer.

"It's hard to say," Carlisle replied, pressing his fingers to his temple and closing his eyes. "If this Robert fellow stays with her, we may not be able to sense them at all. Edward," he said, suddenly urgently, "were you able to hear his thoughts when you were around him?"

"Well yeah, obviously," I said, frustrated, "but what does that have to do with anything?"

"You may be our only way to find them then," he said frustrated. "Alice can't see them, we're not sure if any of us will be able to sense them nearby; we could scour the entire continent and still never find them unless we ran right into them. I mean, you must not have sensed them approaching at the diner, otherwise they wouldn't have gotten so close."

"Well," I began slowly, thinking back on what had happened. "Something felt… wrong. I didn't exactly sense that there were more _vampires_ in the area, but I sensed _something_. I felt uneasy about allowing her to go inside alone," my voice momentarily caught in my throat, "but she ran in, insisting nothing was wrong before I could stop her." I lowered my head into my hands. How could I have been so stupid, allowing her to go in there alone? I should've insisted, I should've stood outside the door _waiting_ for her to come back out.

"So it would still be a waste of time, attempting to find her but not knowing if we'd be able to sense her," Rosalie said simply.

"What are you suggesting," I growled, jerking my head up and glaring at her angrily, "that we just leave her with them, let them do whatever they want to her?!" I was livid, finding it difficult to function. Without thinking, I got up and strode out of the room into the living room, grabbed the piano bench, and threw it through the glass wall on the back of the house. There was a deafening crash as it smashed into a tree somewhere outside.

"Edward," Rosalie said softly. She had moved to the doorway and was watching me now. "I was merely suggesting that we try to come up a better plan. You can't possibly think I would want anything to happen to Bella," she whispered, incredulous. _She means as much to me as you do_, she thought.

I slowly looked up at her face and realized I couldn't question the sincerity I found there. "Sorry," I mumbled weakly, and walked towards her. She put an arm around my waist and gently glided me back into the dining room. I sat back down in my chair, feeling defeated, while the rest of the family gathered around Jasper's map and began charting out a course.

"Well, with the seven of us, we could do a sweep in no time," Jasper reasoned, sketching seven equidistance lines horizontally across the map. "We run, investigate anything we come across, and meet back here. Are we all up for running continuously? If we do, it should only take us about 24 hours."

Everyone nodded.

"Excellent," Carlisle said. The despair in my eyes must have been clear, because he thought, _Edward, she'll still be transforming… we can complete this entire sweep and meet back before she's finished. It won't be time wasted, they won't really be able to move her around much now, and anyway, it's the best time to try._

He was right. I nodded.

"Now Edward, why don't you take this course," Jasper said, indicating one of the lines drawn through the middle. 'Carlisle, I think you ought to take this one," he said, pointing to one with a star marked in the middle of it. "You can stop in Denali and visit to see if they've sensed anything, and who knows, they might even be willing to help."

"Well, they weren't willing to help us last time," Carlisle reasoned, "but maybe if I downplay it as curiosity, they'll be able to do _something_."

"So that's it then," Emmett said enthusiastically, clapping his hands together. "Let's find Bella!" I appreciated his enthusiasm; he was always anxious to be out and doing something, and no matter how hard he tried to hide it behind jokes and insults, he really was incredibly fond of Bella. He was nearly as enthusiastic about the wedding as Alice was, though he would've rather been ripped to shreds than ever admit it. I was the only one he couldn't hide it from, but I assured him I wouldn't give him away.

We all made our way to the front porch, and each member of my family thought encouraging thoughts before running off on their respective courses. _We _will_ find her Edward, _Alice thought with a small determined nod; she was the last one to go. Once they had all gone I stood immobile, thinking for a moment over all that was to come. Finally, I drew in a deep breath, sighed, and took off into the night, running as fast as my legs would carry me.

--

Okay, that's it - again, pleeeease review, if I don't get reviews I'm going to assume people don't like where the story is going and that they've stopped reading. Until next time...


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 12

A/N: sorry if it's been a while! Fortunately, this chapter is significantly longer than I think _any_ of the rest of them. We're still with Edward, annnd yeah, I really hope you enjoy! And that you're all excited, technically it's Monday now, which means we've only got FIVE days til the REAL Breaking Dawn!! Of course, I hope you all stick with my story til the end anyway, I'm really hoping to at least get a chapter or two up before Saturday, but I make no promises. As always, read and review if you like it!

Disclaimer: Not Stephenie Meyer, just having a little fun with her characters.

Chapter 12

Edward's POV

I walked up the porch steps and through the front doors to find I was the first one home. Naturally I was the fastest runner, but also no one could have been more determined to find Bella than me. I sank into a chair in the front room feeling defeated to wait for the others. The lack of communication from my family could only mean that no one had come across anything worth reporting. I sat immobile in that chair for hours, thinking of every moment of horror that Bella was suffering through alone, wishing I could be there for her.

Slowly everyone else began dwindling into the house over the course of a few hours. Emmett first, followed by Rosalie, Alice, Esme, Jasper, and finally Carlisle. As each person entered, they claimed a spot in the living room and mimicked my actions, just sitting in silence. Well, not silence for _me_.

_I'm sorry Edward, I didn't find her_, I heard from each member of my family too many times to count. I experienced the journey each member of my family took through their own minds, and soon it was as if I had run and scoured the entire area myself.

_Please calm down Edward,_ Jasper thought,_ your feelings of despair are so strong that I can't fight them … I'm transmitting them to everyone in the room._ I glared in his direction. _Look around,_ he insisted.

Reluctantly I glanced around the room: he was right, of course. He had an arm around Alice's shoulder, and she was curled up into a ball, hugging her knees with her head down. Emmett was sitting, head down, with his arms wrapped tightly around Rosalie, who had her face pressed into his chest and her arms wrapped around his waist. Carlisle was sitting with one arm resting on the arm of the sofa, and the other around Esme's waist; she had one leg crossed over the other, her arms folded across her chest, and her head leaning onto Carlisle's shoulder. My mood was really making matters worse. I sighed, drew in a deep calming breath, and turned to Carlisle.

"What do we do now?" I asked, hopeless. All the heads in the room lifted to look at me, and then turned to Carlisle.

"Well," he began hesitantly, casting a glance at Jasper.

"We need _help_," Jasper replied.

"The folks in Denali have offered to contact us if they become aware of anything, but they have also vehemently refused to take a stand against any member of the Volturi. It's hard to blame them for that," he added upon seeing my appalled expression. "You would expect them to risk their lives to save a newborn they don't know? As fond as Tanya is of you, you couldn't expect her to go that far."

"If she _knew_ Bella," I began, but knew it was hopeless. No one could understand how I felt about her. The only people I could think of who cared about her as much as I did were her parents, and bringing them into the situation could only make matters worse. "If only they loved her as I do… as _we_ do," I amended upon seeing the shocked faces of my family at the suggestion that I was the only one who cared.

"Well, we're not likely to find anyone who could actually be helpful to us who cares about her as much as we all do," Emmett said glumly.

_Except for that filthy dog,_ Rosalie thought to herself. Suddenly, all of the pieces seemed to click in my mind. Why had it taken me so long to think of the wolves? Even if Jacob was the only one willing to put his life on the line for Bella, one more ally was never a bad thing.

"Jacob!" I exclaimed, jumping to my feet. The faces of the rest of the family flashed bright with comprehension. "Rosalie, I could kiss you!" I cried, dashing across the room and scooping her up into a fierce hug.

"Hey," Emmett barked, laughing. I set Rosalie back down on the couch gently, and Emmett wrapped an arm back around her. "How come no one thought of the dogs before?"

"Will Robert's ability work on them, do you think?" I asked, hope flooding through me for the first time since the moment I saw Aro at the diner.

"Well," Carlisle began slowly, "it's difficult to say. Our ability to sense others of our kind stems from the common bond of what we are. The wolves on the other hand, they sense us for being their enemy. We are able to hide from and manipulate each other, but they don't distinguish between us. It's possible that his ability might not work against the wolves. It's something we'd have to test; just like the search we just undertook, it would have to be an experiment. They might repeat the actions we just went through and come up with nothing. At the worst, I suppose it would just be one more day wasted. They run nearly as fast as us, do they not?"

"Well, maybe not _me_," I said with a grin. My hope was restoring itself quickly. "But yes, they can match us in speed quite easily. I remember Bella saying that when Laurent ran from them, they caught up with him in no time at all."

"Excellent," Emmett said with a grin. "They helped us last time, they'll help us again!"

"Not so fast," Carlisle warned, "they helped us last time because we shared a common enemy. The Volturi aren't threatening the _area_ again, only _us_. There's a chance they won't help."

"But there's a chance they _will_!" I pressed on. "We have to ask, we just have to." I couldn't live with myself if I didn't do everything in my power to help her, even if that meant I had to go ask Jacob for help. He was the only one I had ever considered a _real_ threat to our relationship so I hated to need to involve him, but my concern for Bella's safety overshadowed my jealousy.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to ask," Carlisle said slowly, "but how do we talk to them without seeming threatening?"

"I'll go to Seth," I suggested. Even with the rivalry between our groups, Seth was the most approachable. He and his mother had actually come to our wedding, and we shared a sort of bond after our time together fighting Victoria.

"I'll go with you," Jasper said, rising to his feet. _You know, just to keep everyone under control,_ he thought.

"Good idea," I agreed. "Let's go, it's only eight o'clock, it's not too late to go over there."

"Just be careful," Carlisle warned, "you mean no harm, but there is still a treaty in place, and we're really not supposed to be on their land. Run, and explain your side quickly before they attempt to take any sort of evasive action against you."

"We'll be on their doorstep before they even realize we've crossed the border," I assured him with a grin. "Let's go," I said, turning to Jasper.

We strode out the front door together and sprinted off into the forest. In a manner of minutes, we were standing on Seth's doorstep, knocking lightly. I hoped he would be the one to answer the door and not his sister; she disliked us even more than the others. If she knew that I was capable of delving into her mind, I'm sure she would've censored herself around me, but she did not, and I gathered from time spent together that she blamed us for all of her troubles. Sam had become a wolf because of our presence in the area, which in turn led to him imprinting on Emily and leaving her. It also led to _her_ transformation, and the reluctant fact that she now had to share her innermost thoughts with almost all of the males she knew. Finally, she hated_ me_ more than the rest of my family because of what my involvement with Bella had done to Jacob. _Please don't let Leah answer the door_, I thought to myself.

To my immense relief, the door swung open to reveal Seth, wearing only a pair of mesh shorts. Perhaps he had just been out patrolling, as Bella had mentioned they often did.

"Edward!" Seth said in surprise, stepping back and opening the door wider to allow us to enter. "Jasper, this is a surprise! What brings you guys down to La Push?" he inquired, leading us into his living room.

"We needed to talk to you," I said urgently, taking a seat on the edge of the sofa.

"Actually, you shouldn't even _be_ here," he said nervously, casting a glance toward the door. "This is a total breach of the treaty."

"Yes, we're aware," I said quickly, "but this is important. Bella's been kidnapped."

"She _what_?" he asked, startled.

I explained the details as best I could, but felt it necessary to leave out the detail of her being bitten. I figured there was time to warn them of that issue when they agreed to help. There were so many of them now that even if the entire pack didn't agree to help, I was sure at least some of them would.

"Well, of course _I'll_ help," he said simply.

"Do you think you can get in contact with," I hesitated on the name, unsure of how touchy the subject was, "…Jacob?"

His expression grew uncomfortable at the thought. "Well, if he's in wolf form, I can certainly give him the details on what's happened, but I can't guarantee he'll come back. You know he came back to see her the night before the wedding, right?" he asked.

"No," I said simply, and I was certain my eyes had darkened, my expression become dangerous.

"Oh," he grimaced, flinching back away from me. "Well… yeah, he did," he said, grimacing again, almost as if he was waiting for me to attack him. I took a deep breath and settled myself back on my seat in an attempt to appear less threatening, though on the inside I was still livid. A wave of calm feelings washed over me, and I nodded appreciatively at Jasper. I laced my fingers together and set my hands calmly in my lap, waiting for Seth to proceed. Seth looked from Jasper to myself a few times, and finally decided it was safe to continue. "He just wanted to talk to her one more time before she went through with it," he said sheepishly. _After that, he took off again; he couldn't stay here and deal with the reality that he'd lost her, I think, _he thought.

"I see," I said, and was silent for a moment to think things over. He was still going to be angry that we'd been married, of course, but I hoped there was still enough concern for Bella's safety that he would be willing to help us. "Well, I think he should know," I said after a minute, "so could you go fill him in on the details?" I asked. "Preferably right this second?"

"Sure," Seth said, standing. "If you guys can hang tight for a minute, I'll let him, and anyone else who might be listening, know. Hopefully Leah won't come home in the minute or so that I'll be gone," he said, with another uneasy glance toward the door.

"Don't worry," Jasper said calmly, "if she does, I'm sure I can handle her until you get back."

_I don't know if I like the way he just said "handle her," _Seth thought, with a glance in my direction. I rolled my eyes to convey the point that he needn't worry about Jasper, and he turned and ran out the door and into the woods across the street from his house.

_You didn't tell him she'd been bitten,_ Jasper thought.

"I thought that particular detail could wait until they promised to help," I said sheepishly.

_You don't think they deserve to know what they might find? _He asked. _I don't know how she'll respond to them as wolves, but if any of them get within a hundred yards of her as a human, she'll attack, _he thought sternly.

"Well they won't be running as _humans_," I said with a scoff, but I knew he had an excellent point that I just wasn't willing to accept. I didn't want to think of the possibility of my poor Bella being savagely bloodthirsty, and turning on her friends.

_They'll need to know before they actually agree to help_, he thought sternly, and a wave of remorse rushed through me.

"Stop it," I spat at him. I didn't want him manipulating _my _emotions to make me give away more details than I thought necessary. "I'll handle it," I finally insisted, rolling my eyes.

A moment later, the pack members began pouring through the front door one by one in human form. They all eyed us suspiciously, thinking various thoughts about why we were there. I did my best to block them all out and turned my attention to Sam, who had been the first to come in, and who was seated the closest to me.

"You're all here then?" I asked, glancing around and counting.

"All but Jacob," he confirmed with a nod.

"Excellent. So Seth has given you all the details then?" I said, glancing around. Everyone nodded silently.

Just then, Jasper cleared his throat loudly. _Edward,_ he thought, warningly. _Tell them_.

"Relax," I hissed sideways to him, "I'm getting there." I turned back to the pack. "So, can I assume that you're all here because you're all willing to help?" Once again they all nodded, some more eagerly than others. "Thank you, you have no idea how much this means. However, there is one small detail I omitted when speaking with Seth," I began slowly, holding off the moment as long as I could. "Bella has been… bitten."

At the final word, the room exploded in an uproar, with pack members jumping to their feet and closing in on Jasper and I threateningly. I turned to Jasper and gestured for him to do something. As he began calming the room, I yelled over the uproar, "Not by _us!_"

Moments later, the room was back under control, thanks to Jasper's calming sense and Sam's forceful commands to keep order. "Just before Aro carried Bella away, he … he bit her." My voice cracked embarrassingly on the last words, but at least now they couldn't doubt my sincerity. "Now, I know you're all screaming in your heads that we broke the treaty, but the truth of the matter is that we did not. We broke it by coming here today, yes, but not by changing Bella. Trust me," I said somberly, "I tried everything in my power to prevent it from happening, but I couldn't stop it. This is not our fault."

"You meant to change her anyway," Leah spat bitterly, and I glared at her. "Someone else just beat you to it."

"That's irrelevant," I growled at her, and Jasper sent more calming vibes between us. My face and my aggressive stance relaxed a bit, and my voice grew quieter. "It's not our fault," I repeated, more calmly this time.

Leah opened her mouth once again to retort, but at that moment Sam cleared his throat loudly and she stopped, and turned impatiently to face him. "In light of this, ah, _circumstance_," he began, casting his eyes around the room at the faces of his fellow pack members, "anyone who feels the need to withdraw their offer of service would do well to leave, now. This decision is _yours_," he stressed to them, as some shifted uncomfortably and looked around. "If you choose not to be involved, your decision will be respected."

Immediately, Leah scrambled to her feet and stomped off down the hallway towards the door. She paused when she reached it, turned, and looked back on the rest of the pack to see who would follow. She crossed her arms and leaned against the wall with a scowl. _Is no one else coming?_ She thought a little desperately. She had expected that at least one other person would join her; she didn't think she'd be the only one. She stood there, fighting the pros and cons in her mind for a moment, before stomping back into the living room and plopping into her place on the floor once more.

"No one will think less of you if you leave," Sam stressed again, looking directly at her.

"No, I'll help," she huffed, crossing her arms tightly across her chest. I couldn't help but grin; this meant that they were _all_ willing to help. "Not for you," she spat viciously. "Only for Jake."

"Your reasoning doesn't really mean anything to me, as long as you're willing to help," I said simply.

"Speaking of Jacob," Jasper commented, "were you able to talk to him?"

"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you," Seth began, "he's-"

"-Right here," Jacob said, stepping into the room. Wow, talk about excellent timing. "Don't think for a second that this is at all a favor for you," he began, his voice full of emotion. I couldn't quite pinpoint what it was, there were so many things running through his head at once. "I promised Bella I would be waiting in the wings when you failed her, and now you have. Even if she's not…_human_, anymore, she's still Bella, and I'm going to pick up the pieces and find her."

I was so livid, I don't remember flying across the room at him; I only remember the strong arms of Jasper and Sam pulling me off of him. I hissed a string of profanities at him, so angry that I could barely form a coherent sentence. He sat there on the floor where I had tackled him, not saying a word, but torturing me all the same.

_You're weak, you let someone hurt her… you failed her. I never would've let anything hurt her. I'm going to fix this, and she's going to hate you for it. _He sat there and thought the most vicious things he could imagine, torturing me. He knew exactly what to say to tear at me and make me feel like a failure. _You got everything you wanted, and she got nothing. Now she's being held hostage by that other clan; she's probably terrified, miserable, worried…and I'll bet she's thinking over how much better things would've been had she chosen me. You must remember how close she came to choosing me, _he thought with a malicious grin on his face.

I struggled against their hold, but Sam and Jasper held me in place. I wanted to tear Jacob apart. At that moment, I would've preferred that we try to find her alone than accept their help.

"Edward, outside, now," Jasper said firmly. Jacob disappeared down the hallway into another room after an order from Sam in an effort to put a little more distance between us, and I followed Jasper outside. "I know you want to kill him," Jasper began, "but we _need_ their help. Please, if you care about Bella at all, I know you'll set aside your loathing of Jacob, and let them help us. They're willing to help, and they want to find her too, but ripping Jacob to shreds is not going to make them cooperate."

"I know," I grumbled, "but you couldn't hear all the terrible things he was thinking. About how I've failed her," I said miserably.

"You _haven't_ failed her," Jasper stressed, "look, you took Bella away from him. He's bitter; he's going to do anything he can to make you miserable. You've just got to rise above that, and think about _her_. The only person who can match your incredible self-control is Carlisle so please, just use a little bit of that and forget about Jacob Black!"

"Fine," I sighed. He was right, of course. How much self-control I had exercised over my years with Bella was definitely an accomplishment. Surely I could harness some of that now and forget about Jacob. "Let's go," I mumbled, walking towards the door.

"Oh no, you're not calm enough," Jasper insisted, "I think I can tell whether or not you're ready to go back inside." With that, I felt a wave a calm wash over me.

"Okay," I sighed. "I really am ready now."

"Yeah, okay," Jasper said, sensing that I was still agitated, but I was under control enough to head back inside.

We walked back into the living room to find Jacob sitting in the middle of the floor, surrounded by his fellow pack members. At first, I assumed he was playing the hero, and recounting the details of what he'd been up to. Instead, I was surprised to find his face looking a little flushed, and he was staring at his hands, picking at his fingernails. The talking stopped abruptly when we walked into the room, but I could tell from their thoughts that everyone in the room had been giving Jacob an earful about how he took off without warning. They were all angry and disappointed with him, and they were excited to have him back in the same room so they could give him a piece of their minds.

An awkward silence accompanied our entrance.

"So," Sam began after a moment, "what's the plan then? What can we do?"

Immediately, Jasper's years of military involvement had him launching into different strategies and ideas. I sat by and let him do most of the talking, only interjecting on occasion when the need arose. He asked that they all run as we had and explore the different areas for any hint of vampires, and explained Robert's unusual gift and how he theorized that it might not work against the wolves. It was simple enough, and they all agreed immediately. Jasper pulled out his maps and showed them the routes we had previously taken; they split up into groups and each chose a route – the only ones without partners were Sam and Jacob.

"There's just one catch," Jasper said urgently. "I cannot stress enough how important this is: Bella is a newborn vampire. She will be bloodthirsty and irrational. No matter how close you think you are with her-" his eyes flashed to Jacob for the briefest moment "-I must urge you _not_ to approach her in human form. No matter how much she'll fight herself not to hurt you, in the end she probably won't be able to hold out."

"That's nonsense," Jacob spat from his spot on the floor, "Bella loves me, she loves_ us_… she could control herself. If I need to be in human form to communicate with her, I'll do it. She wouldn't hurt me," he finished confidently.

_That arrogant little idiot_, I thought to myself. Didn't he learn anything at all from the experience with the newborn army before? What made him think that a newborn who was literally only _days_ old could control herself, when there were vampires decades – or even centuries – old who could not? Fortunately, Jasper stepped in to give a little more explanation.

"We can't always control ourselves," he began with a sigh. I realized he was about to tell them all about Bella's birthday party and his failure.

"You don't have to go there," I said warningly, eyes growing wide.

"Yes, I do," he said resolutely. "They need to understand." The wolves all looked around at each other, wondering what they weren't getting. "I have the least amount of experience with this way of life," he began, "and it's more difficult for me than the rest. My beginnings weren't as … ah, _innocent_, I suppose, as the rest of my families." He hesitated as he carefully chose his words. "I … I slipped up… a lot. It was so much more difficult for me than for the rest because of how I was… well, was _created_."

The wolves looked from Jasper to me, still not comprehending what he was trying to explain to them. He sighed, a bit exasperated.

"I was created to … well, to kill," he said quickly. There were a few gasps, but mostly incredulous looks. "Someone changed me with the sole intent of hurting others. At first, I knew no other way of life; I didn't know it could be any different. I didn't _enjoy_ it, but I didn't think I had other options either.

"Then I met Alice. She brought me here. Since then, I have struggled to follow Carlisle's ideals, because I wholeheartedly agree with him. However, given my beginnings, sometimes it's more difficult. On Bella's 18th birthday, we had a party for her at our home. Being as clumsy as she is," he said with a small chuckle that didn't reach his eyes, "she cut herself. As soon as it happened, my senses took over: I tried to attack her."

He radiated a wave of regret throughout the room, and I put a comforting hand on his shoulder. After a moment, the room felt calm again.

"Sorry," he said quietly. "Anyway, I tell you this because I care very deeply about Bella, and still, I slipped. I have much better control over myself than she will, and still, I slipped. That's why it's imperative that you don't approach Bella as a human: no matter how much she cares about you, her instincts _will_ take over, she won't be able to stop it." There was silence for a moment as Jasper paused to let all he had just said sink in. "I mean, you all are still a very serious threat to those you love, regardless of how well intentioned you are, correct? You can still slip."

A few pairs of eyes darted in Sam's direction, but most stared uncomfortably around the room. It was almost painful, listening to Sam's thoughts about Emily, thoughts that the rest of the pack had heard many times without wanting to. Fortunately, remembering what had happened to Emily meant that they all really did understand how important it was for them to keep their distance from Bella as a human.

"So," Jacob said, climbing to his feet, "let's get to it."

Everyone else stood as well, and headed outside. Once we were all out there, we gathered in a tight circle.

"So we each run our course, and report and trace of vampires that we find, except for this Denali clan you mentioned?" Seth asked.

"Exactly," Jasper said. "Since you all can share your thoughts with each other, the second any of you run across a scent, Jacob will hear it, and so Edward will, too."

"Whoa, what?!" Jacob practically screamed, glaring at me. "Who said I was going with _him_?"

"Jacob," Sam began, "you will go with Edward because it is the quickest way to spread communication. You _do_ want to find Bella, do you not? Every second counts, because we don't know what the Volturi are up to. You _will_ go with Edward," he repeated sternly.

Jake glared at him, but didn't argue. "Fine," he hissed through clenched teeth. _Sometimes I hate this stupid rule_, he thought to himself. Of course, he couldn't disobey a direct order from Sam. I was very thankful for that. "Let's go then, bloodsucker," he mumbled at me, sprinting off into the woods.

"We're all set then?" I asked quickly, watching Jake go.

"Yeah, I can finish up here," Jasper said, "and I'll let the others know. You go catch up with Jacob."

I nodded, turned, and ran off into the woods after him. He wasn't difficult to catch up to since he hadn't transformed into a wolf yet. I found him standing, waiting for me, about a hundred yards into the trees.

"I'm only doing this for Bella, you know," he said bitterly, leaning against a tree and folding his arms.

"Yes, I'm very much aware," I said simply, crossing my arms as well.

"If she had picked me, she wouldn't have her life being threatened yet again by angry vampires," he added.

"I'm very much aware of that, as well," I said, my voice pained. I was all too aware of how our relationship put her in constant danger. It was fortunate for her that she wasn't so breakable anymore, but it still killed me every time I thought of how much pain and anguish she had suffered at my hands.

"Yeah, well…" he began, but didn't finish. We stood in awkward silence for a long moment before he finally said, "okay, well let's go."

In the blink of an eye, there was a shaggy wolf standing before me. _Try to keep up_, he thought, and dashed away into the darkness.

_As if he could outrun me,_ I thought, rolling my eyes. I sprinted off behind him, hoping that this new plan would work, and that we'd at least find a _trace_ of my poor Bella soon.

--

so I hope that chapter wasn't too long ... all of a sudden I finished and was like, whoa... that's a long one. Hopefully you enjoyed it after such a long period of time without an update ...again, review please! I'll get another one up soon, I promise!


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Thirteen

A/N: wooo, only one day between chapters! This one is shorter though, sorry... I thought you all might appreciate shorter chapters coming more quickly than long ones. It all depends on how they flow, of course. Anyway, here's chapter 13, enjoy! (4 more days til Breaking Dawn!!)

Disclaimer: Not Stephenie Meyer, don't own anyone you recognize.

Chapter Thirteen

Edward's POV

Jacob and I ran in silence for hours. Well, silence in that neither of us spoke; we were actually both hearing quite a lot from the rest of the pack as they made their journeys. It was difficult for me to be reliving it all for the second time, and I grew increasingly impatient the longer it took. I had not been keeping steady track of time, but I knew that Bella would become conscious soon, and I was desperate to find her before she woke up.

Suddenly, at the exact same moment, Jacob and I froze in our tracks. It was Bella's scent; a scent I was exceptionally attuned to, and unfortunately, so was Jacob. Without a word, we followed the scent, scouring the area for any trace of her. It led us to a small cabin in the woods, hundreds of miles from any human settlement. It was only fifty feet or so from the point where we had crossed her path.

_What happened here? _ Jacob thought, eyeing the gigantic hole in the side of the cabin that was in the unique shape of a body.

"Bella was here!" I said, wrenching the door open and darting inside. There wasn't much to see, just a small sofa, a table, and a few chairs. I quickly scoured the room, picking up all of the scents that I could.

"Aro was here," I said, indicting one of the small chairs at one end of the sofa. Jacob walked over to it and sniffed deeply. Even with his altered appearance given his wolf form, I could still read the expression on his face as disgust. "Bella lied there, as you can tell," I choked out, pointing at the sofa. I composed myself and strode to the other end of the sofa. "Jane was here," I mumbled, and again Jacob came over to familiarize himself with the scent.

_And the other one? _Jacob asked again with his thoughts. _Where is his scent? I only sense three vampires here._

"Yes, that's the strange part," I admitted. "Robert must not leave a scent behind, either… well, that's no matter; we already knew he wasn't easily detected." I sat down gently on the sofa, closed my eyes, and breathed in Bella's scent. She had been here very recently, I was sure of it.

_Hey, wait a second, _Jacob thought, pacing back and forth in the small room. _Isn't this the exact same path you covered last time?_

"Yes," I sighed impatiently, lifting my head to look at him. "What's your point?"

_So… that means you ran right past her before, and you didn't know it. Came within about fifty feet of her and didn't sense a thing,_ he thought.

The words cut at me like a knife. He was absolutely right; I had been within feet of her and had run right past, not sensing a thing. The thought of it killed me. I didn't even bother responding.

_Some boyfriend you are, _I _would've known she was here,_ he thought. I knew it was meant to be a personal thought, and it really_ wasn't_ meant for me to hear; he just wasn't as practiced at controlling his thoughts around me. Nevertheless, I wanted to rip him to pieces. However, thoughts of Bella ran through my head, and I knew it would be of no help to her to rip apart my only current connection with the rest of the wolves.

"Husband," I corrected, and it came out as no more than a low hiss.

_Whatever,_ he muttered to himself.

"Look you mongrel," I growled. I realized that tone was going to get my nowhere, so I took in a deep calming breath, and tried again. "Bella needs us… both of us. I – I need your help to find her." It was so difficult for me to say, and it came out as barely more than a whisper. "What do you say to a temporary truce, like the one we had up in the mountains? Just until we find her, then it's every man for himself."

He thought it over a moment before nodding his head once.

"Good," I continued, "now, you go outside and see if you can figure out which way they went. I need to call Carlisle." Jacob turned and padded out of the small cabin, and I pulled the tiny silver phone from my pocket, dialing Carlisle's cell phone. He picked up during the first ring.

"What have you found?" he asked anxiously.

"We came across their scents in a small cabin," I explained. "Well, three of their scents. It would seem that Robert doesn't leave a scent behind, but when he's no longer there, he doesn't protect the trail behind him."

"That's excellent to know," Carlisle said quickly. "So are you able to follow the trail?"  
"Jacob's checking on that now," I informed him, strolling outside. "Well?" I asked, as Jacob paced back and forth, nose low to the ground.

_Well, I can smell them to here,_ he thought, gesturing with a paw to a place on the ground, _but then I think they got in a car. I can still see the outline of the tire tracks, but the scent disappeared._

"They left tracks?" I asked, incredulous. I thought that was the sort of detail the Volturi would be sure to cover up. Unless they wanted us to follow them…

"Tracks?" Carlisle asked, confused. I explained all that Jacob had conveyed to me quickly. "Okay, well, follow them I suppose, but be extremely careful and keep your distance from anything you come across. You should still be able to hear their thoughts if you get close enough, and as soon as you hear them, stop. Don't get any closer, or they might sense you're there. If you find them, let everyone else know immediately and we can all meet you there," he insisted.

I agreed, and hung up the phone. I walked back over to Jacob, and explained what Carlisle said about keeping our distance. "You're going to have to trust me, and stop literally the second I tell you to," I stressed. Jacob rolled his eyes. "You don't understand, if you run even a foot too close they'll sense you and all will be lost. Promise me you'll listen to me and do as I say," I begged.

He understood the sincerity and desperation in my voice, and nodded quickly. _The second you say it,_ he thought grudgingly.

"Thank you," I said with a sigh. "Now, let's follow these tracks then, and see where they lead."

We took off running again, but more cautiously this time; we didn't want to get to close, but we weren't sure how far they would've taken her. If they were transporting her already, that meant she must have finished changing. I cringed at the thought of Bella opening her eyes to see Aro and Jane standing over her, waiting to see what she could do. I hoped that she had only been moved from this location once, and that wherever we found the vehicle, we would also find Bella.

Bella's POV

We rode in silence for about an hour before the car began to slow. I looked out to behold one of the most impressive structures I had ever seen. We were at the end of a long drive, leading an ominous path up through very tight evergreen and spruce trees, which wound its way steeply up to the top of a hill. There were strategically placed floodlights that illuminated the front of the gorgeous building. It was beautiful and terrifying at the same time. It had the shape and size of a castle, but was built more like a ski lodge, or a cabin. There were many high towers crafted with more impressive woodwork than I'd ever seen. The layers of snow adorning it made it appear more welcoming, but my senses told me to be wary of what lay inside.

"We're here," Aro said cheerfully, hopping out of the front seat. Jane led the way out of the back, and I followed. She grabbed my arm tighter than necessary, but it didn't hurt. Robert made his way quickly around the back of the car and grabbed my other arm.

"What is this place?" I asked, looking up at the frightening building looming ahead.

"Well, you can't believe that we spend _all _of our time in Volterra, can you?" Aro asked, eyeing me quizzically.

"I thought you had anything you needed brought _into_ the city," I said quietly, still staring up in awe.

"Well, yes, it's convenient to have people _believe_ that we never leave, but really, that's nonsense. Can you imagine spending all of your life – and many, many more lifetimes beyond that – trapped in one small city? I shudder at the thought!" he cried. "No, we enjoy getting away, too… and it never hurts having a place to stay in America," he added.

They led me up the front steps and through the huge wooden doors. My thoughts about the ski-lodge appearance weren't far off; there was a large reception desk, many comfortable-looking sofas surrounding a giant fireplace, and there were even a few empty ski racks distributed throughout the lobby.

"It's like a ski-lodge," I whispered to myself, looking around.

"Well, yes, that's intentional of course," Aro said. "We actually sort of advertise it," he explained, "and that's how we get most of our meals out here. Very strategic advertising, mind you… if it were a well known lodge and people were disappearing, that would create issues. No, no, we have very subtle ways of getting the name out there, and then when people come to check in…" He trailed off and gestured to a small door just off the side of the lobby, "lunch."

I gasped and froze in my tracks. "Oh come on," Jane said impatiently, pulling me along, "you'll get used to it soon enough."

I shook my head feebly, but followed along. They led me up the stairs and down a few long hallways to a high-arched door. This led up into one of the towers I'd seen from outside, and we emerged into the room to find it already occupied. Jane threw me roughly inside, closed the door, and leaned against it to thwart any escape attempt.

I stumbled forward and the eyes of at least ten to fifteen vampires all turned to me at once. All the bravery I had felt in the car just a little while ago was gone; I shrank back against the wall as far as I could, trying to be invisible, but it was impossible to disappear into the corner of a round room. They all watched me curiously, and the different thoughts about me running through their heads made me flinch.

Aro didn't bother making any introductions, and I didn't recognize any of these vampires from my brief time in Italy.

"Well, what can she do?" one man with long, blonde hair asked, eyeing me curiously.

"We don't know yet," he admitted. "She hasn't really shown signs of anything, but there is definitely something unique about her. We'll figure it out eventually," he shrugged, completely unconcerned with my apparent lack of abilities. "You all remember how she's immune to Jane and I… that has to mean _something_."

Many of them nodded in agreement. I slid down along the wall until I was sitting on the floor with my knees at my chest. I wrapped my arms around them and closed my eyes, wishing it would all go away, and that I was back in the car with Edward. However, the thoughts throughout the room which were all fighting for my attention made it impossible for me to really lose myself in this fantasy.

"Now Bella," Aro said cheerfully, "get up, come over here, we're not going to harm you." He patted the sofa cushion next to him to indicate that he wanted me to sit between him and Robert. I didn't react; I just sat there wide-eyed, frozen in place. "Jane, if you please," Aro said, rolling his eyes.

She walked over to where I sat, grabbed my arm roughly, and tried to pull me to my feet. I shoved her off, just as I had with Robert, and she flew across the room, hitting a recliner hard and forcing it to flip over backwards. The way she landed with her feet spread in the air was comical; laughter rang through the room, and I'm sure, had I been less terrified, I would've laughed as well.

"I always forget how strong they are," Aro muttered. "Well, no matter." He got up from his seat and crossed the room quickly. I flinched away from him instinctively, but he merely lowered himself to his knees in front of me and looked hard at me. Slowly, he reached one hand forward, and I made to swat it away; his reflexes were quick, however, and he pulled his hand out of my reach. "Now Bella, please… I'm _not_ going to hurt you!" he insisted, reaching forward again. This time, I allowed him to, even though my brain was screaming at me to run. He traced a finger along under my eye. _Such dark circles,_ he thought. "You must be thirsty," he said pensively. "You haven't had _anything_ to drink yet, we should take care of that soon."

"No!" I yelled, trying to shrink further from him, but I was already pressed firmly against the wall. "I cant, I won't…" I let out a sob, though no tears fell from my eyes. "Please," I whispered at him, "can't you please just let me do _that_ my way?"

He eyed me critically for a long moment. "I don't suppose it would do any good to force you," he mused, and I shook my head quickly. "Though, you know, as soon as a human walked into this room, that would be it … your determination couldn't save you from your instincts."

"You're wrong," I spat ferociously at him. "From the moment he was changed Carlisle controlled himself. He _never_ preyed on a human. I could do it too."

"Yes, well…" he began, but didn't finish. "Carlisle is the _other_ reason I won't force you. He cares about you, and I've always had great respect for him. I have no intention of making him angry."

"Yeah, well I think you already burned that bridge," I mumbled, rolling my eyes.

"Well, we'll try to get you something a little more to your taste," he said with a sigh, ignoring my previous statement. "Not just yet, though. We need to know what you're capable of first. You might want to reveal yourself soon; the thirst is just going to get worse. I don't want you to suffer from it, but I _won't_ help you until we know what you can do."

"I don't know what you're talking about," I lied completely unconvincingly. I thought back to when Edward had ruled out actress as a career potential for me, and wished he'd been wrong. "There's nothing special about me."

"Oh but you're wrong," he said with a grin, "and I have all the time in the world to figure out what it is."

--

well there's chapter 13! take a minute to review please! you have no idea how it makes my day to see that someone left a note saying "omg i love it" haha ... thanks!


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Fourteen

A/N: so here's chapter fourteen! it took slightly longer than I meant for it to, so I'm sorry. So read and review... enjoy!

Disclaimer: not Stephenie Meyer, I don't own Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, or Breaking Dawn.

Chapter Fourteen

Edward's POV

_These tracks can't be more than an hour old,_ Jacob thought as we followed the tire marks winding through the tight foliage.

"You're right." I agreed with him, even though it pained me to do so. Jacob and I had been moving at an extremely slow pace for the last 45 minutes, carefully following each twist and turn.

_Bella's old truck could've gone faster than this,_ he had whined when we first set off, but I enforced our unbelievably slow pace.

"They're in a car," I had reasoned, "so they're not going to be moving very quickly. At the rate we run, we'd overrun them in a matter of minutes, and that wouldn't help a thing," I insisted. He scoffed at me, but continued along our slow pace as requested.

Eventually, we rounded a corner, and the trees thinned a bit to reveal a long, paved drive leading up a steep incline to a huge wooden building. _It looks like an overgrown ski-lodge,_ Jacob thought, _but she's definitely in there, I can smell her._

"You _can_?" I asked, incredulous. I couldn't smell a thing; I had assumed it to be an old abandoned ski-lodge that no one was using anymore. How was it possible that Bella was so close by and I couldn't sense her? Every muscle, every single nerve in my entire body was perfectly attuned to her every movement and still somehow, she was finally within my reach and I couldn't sense her. It killed me to be realizing how much I really did need Jacob there.

_Yeah,_ he thought to himself, his nose wrinkling in disgust, _and she's not alone. There's got to be at _least_ fifteen other vampires in there with her, too. Maybe more… the scent is killing my nose._

I rolled my eyes at him, but panicked internally. Fifteen, at least? I had been weighing the odds, Jacob and I against Aro, Jane, and Robert… we were outnumbered, but the fight would be potentially well-balanced. But fifteen… we'd need my entire family as well as the entire pack to take on a grouping of that size, especially considering the level of skill each member of the Volturi would possess.

"That changes everything," I said, pulling out the small silver phone. "Let everyone else know, if you haven't already," I said as I dialed Carlisle's number. Within seconds I had him on the phone. "Well, we found them," I sighed warily.

"Good!" he exclaimed, clearly relieved.

"Yes, well… it's complicated," I began. I explained how many vampires Jacob was sensing, and how we would need everyone's help to get to her.

"That _does_ complicate things," Carlisle agreed, "but it's definitely not a lost cause. We've got them outnumbered, and they won't anticipate the wolves. So where are you?"

"I have no idea," I admitted, "we just followed the scent and the tracks until we found her."

"Use your phone," he said simply. "It's got a GPS built in, they all do." He walked me through turning on my phone's GPS capability, and I gave him our coordinates. "It'll be a few hours until we can get there Edward, so just hang tight, and keep an eye on things. Watch the perimeter to see if anyone enters or leaves, and be careful that you don't get too close."

"Right," I agreed. "See you soon."

I hung up with Carlisle, and turned back to Jacob. "Everyone all filled in?" I asked.

Jacob nodded once. _They're all running here now, I told them where it was so that they could steer clear of the building itself … we don't want them coming in from a different direction and coming upon the lodge first, _he explained.

"But… how did you… how will they _find_ you?" I asked in shock. "You don't even know where we _are_!"

_Yeah, but with the whole shared thoughts thing, they've all seen my journey just as clearly as I have… you've seen where each member of your family went too, didn't you?_ He asked.

"Yes, that's true," I murmured to myself. This whole journey was becoming increasingly difficult, given that Jacob had turned out to be a much bigger asset than myself. Hopelessness was definitely something I was unaccustomed to, yet somehow it was the only constant emotion I had felt in days. I didn't understand how a _wolf_ could possibly be more instrumental in finding Bella than I; nothing was making sense.

We sat down in the woods a few feet off the trail to wait for the rest of our party to join us. I knew it would be a few hours before they'd all be here, and every moment was agonizing. I fought a constant battle with myself to keep from running up that hill and into the lodge-like building, regardless of what I would find.

_This is killing you, isn't it_, Jacob thought, looking up at me.

"Yes, it is," I agreed. "I've never felt so helpless."

_Now you know how I felt the day she ran off to Italy after you,_ he thought bitterly. I saw through his thoughts Bella recognizing Carlisle's car… then his thoughts flashed forward to Bella and Alice running away. It was almost painful to hear him reliving those moments when he begged her not to go, not to _die_.

I shifted uncomfortably; I had no idea what to say. "I'm sorry," I managed after a moment. He scoffed. "No, I really, truly am sorry," I pressed on. "We've gotten ourselves into a rather unfriendly situation, but I don't hate you Jacob." It was so hard to verbalize these thoughts, because they were much too complicated for words. "You understand how I feel about Bella... in your own way. It's unfortunate that we must always be at odds like this, but I think you and I both know there can only be a happy ending for one of us."

Jacob sat in silence, only acknowledging my statement by the thoughts of Bella now running through his head. They sat on a bench in a movie theatre lobby, his arm draped around her shoulder, holding her close … strolling hand in hand down First Beach in La Push … her reaching up to give him a high five, and their fingers intertwining and staying that way… each one was more painful for me than the last. There had been previous occasions where Jacob showed me Bella at her worst; he had forced upon me the memories of all the damage I had brought on with my absence, but this was different. These happy memories, where she seemed to be almost whole and content without me, these were things I had never seen. Of course I had wanted Bella to move on in my absence, to lead a normal life and pretend as though I'd never left my dark mark upon her. However, until this moment I had never seen evidence of it. I'd heard from Alice (who had spoken with Charlie) about the empty-shell Bella, who moped, only answered direct questions, and was basically hollow. I knew she'd forged a close friendship with Jacob, but until this moment I had never realized just how serious it had been.

In an instant these thoughts vanished as I sensed my family coming closer. It was a matter of minutes before they arrived.

"They're almost here," I informed Jacob, rising to my feet. I strode back to the path and looked up at the lodge, imagining Bella up there waiting somewhere. I hoped she was comfortable, and safe.

_Get back here!_ I heard Jacob think angrily, and I immediately ducked behind the nearest tree.

"What is it?" I hissed.

_Someone just emerged from that side door, there, _he thought, gesturing with his front paw. I followed the gesture, and saw, to my surprise, Robert strolling down a little side path towards the woods. He looked like he was looking for something, but he was of little importance to me now; I could finally sense Bella again. His distance made her, and the others in the room, perceivable to me again.

_Shouldn't we go after him? _Jacob thought. I thought it over for a moment. He wasn't really much of a threat – he hadn't even known what purpose he was serving. Then again, he knew the layout inside of the lodge, which would certainly come in handy when the moment to strike was upon us.

"Yes," I finally decided, "let me catch him… he could be useful."

_I could catch him just as easily as you could_, Jacob thought angrily, making to follow me.

"I have no doubt of that," I said as calmly as possible. "However, I think it's safe to say that things will turn out a bit more favorably if I do it. I highly doubt he's expecting any wolves to show up, and if we want him to cooperate, we should try not to frighten him too much."

Jacob let out a huff of air that I think was meant to be a resigned sigh, and plopped down in a rather ungraceful manner onto the wet snow.

"Oh, don't pout," I sighed, aggravated. "I'll be back in a flash."

I stalked off after Robert into the woods, knowing I had to be quick; I couldn't sense _him_, but I was sure he could sense _me_. Just as I was about to make my move, his thoughts startled me, and I froze in my tracks.

_She was so sure he'd be out here, but I don't see anyone… I don't know how he could find us anyway, Aro was pretty sure that other vampires couldn't sense this place. _The voice in his head was so full of anxiety that for a moment, I felt nothing but pity for this poor boy; he was just a pawn in the eyes of the Volturi, and he seemed just as terrified as I imagined Bella to be. His next thought startled me more than anything I had experienced in quite a long time: _Where _are _you Edward??_

Was he really _looking_ for me? Friend or foe, I couldn't decide… I was fairly certain he'd thought "she was so sure," but who was "she"? Was it Bella, or Jane, or some other woman up in the lodge? I wasn't sure what would happen once he found me, and so I decided I needed to take the upper hand.

Confident that he was no match for my speed, I sprang. I was right, of course; a second later, I had him pinned to the ground. But wait, did I? I looked down, and where I expected to find his face, I found snow, twigs, and old, decaying leaves. However, I still felt a very solid body beneath me. _He's invisible,_ I thought, astonished.

"Robert?" I asked, staring down where I expected his head was.

"Edward?" I heard his hesitant voice ask.

"Yes, of course," I said.

"Oh thank goodness, I'm glad she was right!"

"Who is 'she'?" I asked.

"Bella, of course," he said, startled. "Who else would send me out looking for you?" I narrowed my eyes at him, focusing on a particularly large rock lying on the ground, assuming his eyes had to be somewhere nearby. "And, why aren't you looking at me?" he questioned.

"What do you mean? How can I possibly look right at you?"

"It's like you're looking right through me, it's very odd," the disembodied voice continued beneath me.

"Yes, well it's very difficult to look into the eyes of someone you can't see," I said impatiently. Why was he playing stupid? Suddenly, it dawned on me what Carlisle had said back at the house: he might not be aware of this particular talent. "You're invisible," I began, unsure of how to explain it to him.

"Well that's ridiculous," the voice insisted. "How could I be invisible?"

"Look at your hands if you don't believe me," I said with a shrug.

"Well, if you could…" he began struggling against me. I released one of his arms from my grasp, and felt the rush of air as he moved it quickly in front of his face. "I'm … how is that… what's going on?" he asked, desperately confused.

"That's your ability," I began. "You can make yourself invisible …and undetectable as well," I said with a scowl, thinking of how much more difficult he'd been making this for me.

"You mean I have _two_?" he asked, incredulous.

"Two?" I repeated questioningly.

"Yeah, I though the visions were it! No wonder they wanted to keep me around…" he trailed off, lost in thought.

"Visions _and_ intractability? No wonder you were such an asset to their party. And such a hindrance to mine," I added bitterly.

"Not any more!" he insisted quickly. "I've been, ah, _communicating_ with Bella, and I'm here to help!" I wondered what his tone had been implying with the word "communicating," but I chose not to interrupt for now. "I made an excuse and snuck away to find you, I'm really glad you're out here. Can I, uh, get up now?" he asked tentatively.

I thought it over for a moment. He seemed pretty sincere, and his thoughts showed me that he really had been communicating with Bella. Reluctantly, I climbed off of him; as soon as I was on my feet, he reappeared, lying flat on his back in the snow. I assumed that he was no longer feeling threatened and so he no longer felt the need to be invisible.

"Did you bring the wolves with you?" he asked, sounding almost excited at this point.

"How do you…?" I asked incredulous, trailing off.

"Well, I saw what you were planning back at the diner," he began, "but Bella also told me all about them. She was hoping you wouldn't be too stubborn to ask for their help, because she knew you'd need it."

"Yes well, one's here," I said, "and the rest are on their way. My family, too. Let's go." With that, I grabbed him by the elbow, "just a precaution," I explained in my friendliest tone, and led him back through the trees to where Jacob stood with the rest of my family who had arrived in my absence.

"This must be Robert?" Carlisle asked, looking him over. I nodded.

"This won't be any fun for _any_ of us if we're going to catch and take care of them one by one," Emmett complained. I saw Robert's eyes grow wide half a second before he disappeared. "Whoa, wicked!" Emmett exclaimed.

"Were not going to be 'taking care of you'," I assured Robert, and slowly, he went from completely invisible to just barely translucent.

"Explain to them everything that you just told me," I instructed, still holding his elbow firmly, but trying to sound as non-threatening as I could.

Slowly, he launched into a detailed explanation of all of the exchanges that occurred between Bella and himself, up until I found him moments ago. As he spoke and became more confident, he became increasingly opaque, until once again he looked completely normal.

"I wish we had some choice, _any other_ choice," Carlisle said darkly, shaking his head. "Aro is a very old friend, and I'd hate to see it come to _this_."

No one spoke for a moment, thinking over the battle that was getting closer by the second.

As all the pieces were clicking together, there was still one that didn't make sense to me. "How were you able to communicate with Bella," I asked suddenly. "I don't see how you could've spoken with her privately at any point in all of that."

"Oh, well her ability," he said simply. All eyes were locked on him now.

"Her ability? She's showing an ability already?" I asked frantically. "What can she do?"

"Well, it's quite amazing, really," he began; his eyes narrowed a bit and he started off into the dark woods thoughtfully. "She can hear thoughts like you can, without physical contact, but, there's more…"

"More?" I asked, incredulous. How could she be showing _one_ ability already, let alone _two_?

"Yeah, it's… it's the strangest thing… I've never seen anything _like_ it, I'm fairly certain no one I've ever heard of could do it."

"Do _what_?" I pressed, impatiently.

"She can put thoughts in your mind," he said.

"What do you mean, 'put thoughts in your mind'?" Carlisle asked calmly.

"It's like… you're sitting there, and then you just hear her voice in your head. It's like she's speaking out loud, but no one else can hear. It's strange."

"Incredible," Esme breathed.

"Now, Robert," Jasper said seriously, "we need to know everything you can tell us about the inside of the lodge. When we attack-" Robert's face contorted painfully at the word "-we need to be prepared for whatever we're going to find inside."

Robert launched into all of the details he knew about the building. It was his first time there, so he wasn't as well informed as we would've liked, but he could give us enough detail to get us to Bella, which was all that really mattered in the end.

"The wolves are getting all of this?" I asked, turning to Jacob.

_Yeah, they can see it… they're getting pretty close, actually… ten minutes, tops,_ he thought.

"Good. The sooner the better."

Jasper decided that he might as well make the most out of the time we had to wait; he began giving Jacob strategies about how to handle experienced vampires for him to pass on to the rest of the pack while they ran.

"Basically, we'll just take the place by storm," he said after some discussion with Jacob. "We know how to get to Bella, so we'll all charge in and head that direction as quickly as possible. They're all still in that one room?" he asked, turning to Alice, but it wasn't Alice who answered.

"Yeah, and they'll all stay there until the moment we run in," Robert said. All eyes turned to him, incredulous. I hadn't mentioned Robert's _other_ ability when I brought him back.

"You see the future, too?" Alice asked. This was unbelievable. In one night we had come across two instances of vampires with multiple abilities, something I had never seen in my nearly 90 years as a vampire.

"Yeah, but like Aro, I need physical contact."

"Then how did you just…?" I began, but he cut me off.

"You're still holding onto me quite tight," he said, staring pointedly at my hands gripping his arms.

"Sorry," I said, and released him.

"You think that's a good idea?" Emmett asked, not believing that I had actually just let him go.

"He's told us so much already… if he goes back to them, Aro will know what he's done, so I don't really think he's going to betray us," I said, simply. I couldn't even begin to imagine how Aro would make him pay for this if we lost. The pain Jane could inflict seemed mild comparatively.

Robert must've been thinking along those same lines, because he gulped and started to fade.

"Hang in there," Esme said comfortingly, stepping over to him and placing an arm gently around him. "We'll do everything in our power to make sure nothing happens."

Jasper sent calming vibes around, and Robert relaxed, becoming opaque once more. "I never wanted to go with them," he said in a hushed whisper. "I don't even remember who bit me… I just remember being in pain, then waking up in the dark. I was terrified, and ran around looking for anyone to explain what had happened. Then I ran into Felix." My fists clenched together as I remembered him back in Italy, calling "dibs" on Bella. "He told me he could help, and took me back to Volterra. I didn't understand what was going on, and when they brought those people into the room…" he hesitated and shuddered, causing Esme to hold him a little tighter. "I didn't want to hurt them but, I … I couldn't help it. My instincts took over." He stopped, and stared at the ground. "I tried to leave a few times, but somehow they always convinced me that I couldn't leave. Then they asked me to come along with them here and I knew I didn't really have an option, so I came."

We all stood in silence for a moment, imagining how Robert had come to be here. After a moment, the wolves started to appear, one by one, from the trees. The biggest black wolf padded right up next to me, and Robert flinched.

_Jacob's given us all of the details we need to know_, he thought, _and we're all here, so as soon as you give the word, we're ready to go._

"Excellent," I said to him. "Sam says that everyone is here, and we can proceed at any time," I announced to the rest of the group. I looked around at the rest of my companions and saw that everyone was prepared. "Okay then, let's go." I drew in a deep breath then took off at top speed up the hill, leading the charge at the lodge. Everyone else, including Robert, followed in my wake, and we burst through the front doors and through the lobby, running for the tower where Bella was being held.

--

So, I'm sorry if I'm a HUGE tease, but I'm pretty sure you can all figure out what's coming next! I'm gonna try to get the next chapter out as SOON as possible, but it's going to be a big deal, and I want to get it perfect. Leave encouraging reviews please! :-)


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Fifteen

A/N: just barely 24 hours until I got this chapter up for you, inspired mostly by someone threatening to hunt me down, and someone throwing a cookie at me (thanks!) ... I hope you enjoy this chapter, it was difficult, yet fun to write at the same time... read and review please! the reviews make me happy and inspire me to write more, sooner. hint

Disclaimer: I'm not SM, the only characters/ideas I own are the ones you don't recognize from the Twilight series.

Chapter Fifteen

Bella's POV

I slowly lost track of time as I sat there against the wall. It was odd for me, not needing rest of any sort; the prospect of an indefinite amount of time at my fingertips did not bring me any of that endless patience the Cullens all seemed to have. That must be an acquired skill gained by decades of free time, I decided. I thought that it must be something I could acquire, too, but it was hard to imagine as I sat here desperate for any sort of distraction my mind could come up with.

Perhaps if my fellow occupants of this strange tower had been doing anything at all, I might've had something to watch. However, they sat still as statues for hours; no one came, no one went. We just all sat, unmoving for an indefinite amount of time… surely it would drive me mad before long.

My only comfort was Robert. He seemed genuinely uncomfortable with his role in the whole sordid affair, and was not very loyal to the Volturi at all. Through his thoughts he explained how he had come to be here, and it seemed he'd had little more say in the matter than I had. He had been recklessly transformed and then abandoned, and the Volturi must've discovered his ability (though he didn't understand why they needed yet another clairvoyant when his ability wasn't even strong enough to rival Aro's) and so they decided to keep him around. It was a comfort to have someone around to talk to who seemed just as unsure of this whole situation as I was.

_Edward must be on his way_, I thought to him even though we sat a good fifteen feet apart. We didn't want to draw attention to the fact that we were communicating with each other, so we faced opposite directions and spoke purely with our thoughts. It was strange, but somehow a little exciting as well. _I wish there was some way to know_, I sighed.

_Well, I mean, I could go outside,_ he began, clearly unsure of what he was saying.

_Oh Robert, that's such a great idea!_ I thought, ecstatic. _Make up an excuse - say you want, no, need, to go hunt! - and go outside and see if Edward is out there somewhere, waiting!_

_I dunno, Bella,_ he thought. _There aren't any humans around for quite some distance, it would take a while_.

_Exactly! _I thought_. The longer the task _should_ take you, the better! It'll give you more time to find Edward!_

_What if they tear me apart?_ Even the voice in his head sounded terrified beyond words. _What if they see me, know I'm with the Volturi, and rip me to shreds before I can even speak?_

_That's not like them,_ I insisted. _They don't prey upon humans, and I can't imagine that they'd tear you apart. Yes, Edward will probably capture you and question you, but just _tell_ them that we've been speaking, and I'm sure they'll let you be._ I explained all about the war with the newborns back in Forks, and how Carlisle had agreed not to destroy one young girl if she agreed not to fight. This seemed to relax him a bit, and after a moment he stood up, told Aro he really needed to go hunt, and asked to be excused.

Aro thought it over for a minute or two, wondering if he could possibly have ulterior motives. I prayed that Robert would run out quickly, and not allow Aro enough time to pry through his thoughts; if he did, all was surely lost. However, Aro didn't seem to sense a problem, and he allowed Robert to go off to hunt for a while. He figured it would be days before Edward would find us, so a little while without Robert's protection couldn't do any harm. What protection was he talking about? Robert could see the future, but I was sure someone else here _must_ share that ability; what would it matter if he wasn't around for a little while?

I was glad that Robert was off to find some help, but a little uneasy that this left me alone in the tower without an ally. I prayed he would find Edward soon, and then I wouldn't be stuck here much longer.

I'm not sure how much longer I sat there in silence, staring at the floor, but suddenly, something hit the door with so much force that it smashed off of it's hinges and across the room. This was either something unbelievably great or unbelievably terrible; I braced myself for the moment I would find out which it was.

All heads in the room turned toward the now open doorway, and Edward stepped calmly through, assessing the situation. I was so relieved to see him that I couldn't help but chuckle at his theatrical tendencies; he stood a few feet inside of the doorway, and the wolves and the rest of the Cullens ran in on either side of him and began attacking. It was like a scene from a movie, and I watched it all occur in slow motion, though it was really all taking place faster than human eyes would ever be able to comprehend.

As soon as everyone had piled in, Edward ran straight at me and fell to his knees at my side.

"Are you okay, are you hurt, what have they done to you?" He threw question after question at me without pausing to give me time to answer.

"I'm fine," I assured him, "but we should help!" I leapt to my feet, and he followed suit but held me back.

"You're not fighting," he said stubbornly.

"The hell I'm not!" I yelled back at him, turning to fight, but he grabbed my arm. "Edward, I'm quite possibly stronger than you at the moment, don't make me _throw_ you off," I said warningly. We both seemed to know there was no way I would really do that, because he held fast.

"Please," he begged, no force in his voice now. "Don't make me worry about you… you don't know your own strength yet, you'll get hurt."

I wanted to argue, but the pain in his eyes made me stop before I began.

"Fine," I said weakly.

"Thank you love," he said quickly. "Now, I'm fairly certain they've got orders _not_ to harm you, so all you need to do is stay out of the way." I sighed, and nodded my head. "We'll make this quick, I promise," he said, and a small smile appeared on his lips, but didn't reach his eyes. He leaned his head down and pecked me lightly on the lips, before turning and dashing after the nearest enemy.

Watching the battle rage around me was more terrifying than anything I had experienced in my life so far. These vampires were more skilled than the newborns they had fought before, and even though we had them outnumbered, the battle still raged fiercely.

Fortunately the wolves were able to take on enemies in pairs, which made me worry about them a little less. They seemed so much more destructible than the vampires, and my concern was as great now as it had been the very first time I imagined Jacob going up against Victoria. Now, Victoria seemed no better than a newborn in comparison.

Somehow, I found myself standing alone in the center of the fight; they must have considered me too insignificant to pose a real threat to them in battle. To them, I was nothing more than a pawn in their little game. I wanted so badly to help, to prove that I was worth more than I was given credit for, but as the formidable battle raged around me, I wasn't sure how to begin.

My eyes roved the room helplessly; I saw a wolf dragging what looked like no more than a torso to the great fireplace in the wall. He (or she, I couldn't tell who it was from this side of the room) threw the torso onto the raging fire, and great billows of purple smoke escaped up the shoot. For a moment, I considered going over to help him collect the pieces (my stomach did a back flip at the thought) because I was desperate to make myself useful _somehow_. However, this thought was fleeting, because I heard Edward cry out in pain from behind me.

I whipped around to see Edward lying on the floor, writhing in pain. I was certain that had my heart still been beating, it would have stopped at that exact moment. I looked up to see Jane standing over him, a beatific expression distorting her god-like features, making her the most hideous person I'd ever seen. There was nothing angelic about her features when she looked at him this way; it made me sick.

I finally understood what they meant when they kept insisting that my instincts would take over; suddenly I wasn't aware of my surroundings, myself, or anything at all, really – anything except Jane. Without thinking, I dove at her throat. She released the hold she had over Edward in surprise, and before I could even begin to realize what I was doing, I tore into her throat with my teeth. I was surprisingly merciless as I continued to claw and tear at every bit of her that I could reach.

Then I felt Edward's strong hands lift me off of her, pulling me to my feet, and Jasper and Alice ran in to finish what I had started. I watched in horror for a moment, barely able to process what I had just done. Edward wrapped his arms around me and tried to turn me away from the sight, but I was frozen, unmoving, eyeing the damage I had done.

I had literally just torn someone to pieces. I couldn't believe I was capable of it; I was numb with shock. As it sunk in that I had really just _destroyed_ someone, I turned into Edward's embrace and buried my face in my chest.

"What have I _done_?" I asked through my dry sobs. He stroked my hair gently with his fingertips, planting kisses on top of my head.

"You haven't done anything wrong," he purred in my ear.

"I killed someone!" I insisted, shaking with grief.

"But you saved my life," he countered.

"You were in pain, but you weren't in mortal danger," I insisted, wishing he'd stop trying to justify the horrible thing I had just done.

"No, Bella, I was …" he began slowly, and I looked up into his beautiful topaz eyes, losing myself for a moment. "Jane was causing me pain to _hold_ me there. If you hadn't acted when you did, one of the other Volturi was about to come finish me off while she held me incapacitated."

I shook even worse at the thought of how close I had come to losing him, and I tightened my grip around him, burying my head in his chest once more.

"Come on love, let's go out in the hall," he said softly, steering me towards the doorway.

"But does anyone in here need help?" I asked desperately. I wasn't in a hurry to give in to my instincts again like I just had, but if it meant saving someone I loved, I was ready to do it.

"No, it's under control," he said, steering me through the open doorway. If he was really willing to abandon the battle to bring me out in the hall, he must've been telling the truth. As a personal rule, I refused to allow myself to delve into Edward's thoughts; I didn't think it was right that I should hear everything he was thinking. I focused so hard on avoiding his thoughts that I wasn't entirely sure I could even hear them; I hadn't heard a thing from him yet, and I intended to keep it that way.

Once he had me out in the hall, Edward twirled me around to face him, and began examining me critically. His hands traced my head, face, arms, sides, looking for any sign of harm.

"I'm alright," I insisted, but my voice was shaking a little too much to be very reassuring. "No one touched me, I promise… I just sat and waited for a while."

"It's over," he soothed, stroking my cheek with his hand. "No one is ever going to come near you again."

"Well, I'm hardly as breakable as I once was," I laughed feebly, and the shaking lessened a bit.

"Yes, but its worse than I feared," he groaned quietly.

"What's that?" I asked, alarmed.

"You still seem to be just as much of a danger magnet now as you were as a human."

We both laughed, and I leaned against him, sighing. "This can't be the end though, can it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, this assault on the Volturi can't come without consequences," I whispered.

"Let's not worry about that right at this moment," he soothed.

We stood in silence for a moment until Jasper came out into the hallway.

"It's over," he sighed, coming to stand by our side. He spoke aloud, but it was no longer necessary for either of us. "We suffered minimal damage."

"Minimal damage?" I asked, panic beginning to set in once more. I darted from Edward's arms back into the tower, where the clean-up had already taken place. The only vampires left in the room were Robert, Rosalie, Carlisle, Esme, Alice, Aro, and Emmett, but something was wrong. Carlisle stood talking to Aro near the fireplace, and the rest of them were gathered around Emmett, who was lying, unmoving on one of the sofas.

"Emmett!" I cried, running to his side, pushing through the crowd gathered around him. He couldn't be hurt, not Emmett. He was always the strongest of us all, more of a protector than anyone I had ever met and yet here he lay, eyes closed looking helpless. "Is he…?" I asked frantically, unable to finish the sentence.

"Relax," he said, opening his eyes slowly.

"Oh Emmett!" I gasped, throwing my arms around him. "Don't scare me like that! I thought you were…" I trailed off again.

"Ouch, get off," he grumbled, nudging me off of him with his knee.

"What's wrong?" I asked, still frantic.

"One of them got a little piece of me, it's nothing," he said, shrugging it off. I looked him over to find that a part of someone's shirt had been tied around his forearm in a sort of make-shift bandage.

"I thought you were _dead_!" I cried, smacking him on the shoulder. "Don't scare me like that!" I turned to Alice, who was standing directly behind me and asked, "Is this it? Emmett was the only one hurt?"

"Well," she began, and I immediately didn't like her tone. "The wolves all got scratched up pretty bad; their skin isn't quite as durable as ours."

"But they're all _okay_, right?" I pressed, fearing the answer before it escaped from her lips.

"Well, no," she sighed.

"Who," I whispered, and it sounded more like a demand than a question. I didn't wait for an answer before I turned and dashed across the room to where the wolves were all gathered in a circle. "Who is it?" I asked frantically. I couldn't see who lay in the middle, so I frantically searched through all who were standing and narrowed it down to…

Leah.

Vampires must not be able to faint. That was the only logical reason I could think of to explain why I was still conscious. My legs had crumpled beneath me and left me sitting, heaving dry sobs in the middle of the floor, but I was still miraculously awake. Jacob nuzzled my arm with his head in an attempt to be comforting, but I shied away from him. This was all my fault, and I didn't deserve to be comforted. I kept causing all of the hurt and pain that everyone I loved kept experiencing. I deserved to feel some as well.

"How?" I whispered.

I looked up at the wolves waiting for one of them to think of something, but before they could Edward was sitting next to me on the floor, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. I shied away from him too.

"Don't comfort me," I practically growled at him. "Just _tell me_ what happened."

"One of theirs – I don't know who it was – one of them was going for Sam," he began to explain. As he said this, my eyes scoured the room and found the great black wolf lying against the wall, looking to be in pretty bad shape.

"Is he okay?" I interrupted, looking him over.

"He will be," Edward said quietly, then continued. "Anyway, one of them was really doing a number on Sam. There were some pretty formidable abilities going on," he said and actually shuddered. "Leah got in the way, and he turned the full force of his attack on her. The distraction she caused allowed Jacob the opportunity to finish him off, but not without cost."

I looked back at Leah's limp form, and it was too much for me to bear. I pulled my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them, putting my head down. I was all too experienced with panic attacks to not recognize the one setting in now.

"No one blames you, love," Edward said softly, attempting to wrap an arm around me again. This time I didn't shrug him off, but instead leaned into his shoulder, shaking uncontrollably.

"It's over, but at what cost?" I cried helplessly. "If I weren't such a danger magnet, no one would have to risk their lives – or _give up_ their life – for my sake!"

"Shh," Edward soothed, rubbing my back. "Everyone knew the risk they were taking in coming here, in fighting with the _Volturi_… everyone knew there was a chance they might not walk away unscathed."

"Or at all!" I sobbed into his shoulder.

Jacob walked over to us, and stared at us for a moment meaningfully. "He says that Leah had no regrets about coming and helping … she was given the option to stay home, and chose not to. He said you shouldn't blame yourself," Edward explained.

I looked up at Jacob staring down at me for a moment. Why couldn't I hear him, too? It didn't make sense; I could hear people just like Edward.

"You heard him think that?" I asked, looking up at Edward.

"Of course," he said simply, "why wouldn't I?"

"Because I _didn't_ hear it," I said, frowning. "I wonder why that is."

"Can you hear _me_?" Edward asked.

"Well, no…" I began slowly, "but I've been making an especially hard effort _not_ to."

"We'll ask Carlisle," he said, standing and lifting me to my feet as well. I considered fighting him, but I didn't think I could bear to see Leah's lifeless body anymore, and so I allowed him to lead me away.

Aro and Carlisle were still standing deep in conversation by the fireplace, and Edward led me over to them. When Aro turned and focused his attention on me, I shrank back into Edward's arm reflexively

"It's okay Bella," Carlisle said calmly. "Aro and I were just discussing some things."

"It's a shame it had to come to this," Aro said sadly, but not really seeming remorseful.

"How can you stand there so calmly when every single person you brought here was destroyed?" I asked incredulously. I could hardly believe when he shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

"My highest expectations for this fiasco were that you would change, have some miraculous ability, and decide that you wanted to come back to Italy with me, bringing Edward and Alice along," he explained. "And my lowest? Well, we're pretty much there," he said, gesturing around.

"But… but everyone you brought!" I cried, startled.

"Dispensable." He only said one word, but it stabbed through me painfully.

"You brought all of these people here to die?"

"No, not to die specifically, but I did know it was a definite possibility. You must have wondered why your family beat them almost effortlessly. Real members of the Volturi wouldn't fall so easily, Bella. They were all relatively new to our family. Not newborns, no, but all at least ten years or younger. Their newborn strength had already diminished, but they weren't yet skilled enough in battle. Like I said, dispensable."

I shuddered at how casually he spoke of ending the lives of so many people in a matter of moments.

"It wouldn't be such a lost cause if you would just agree to come with me," he said hopefully.

Before I could respond, Edward was growling at him. "Don't you dare try to guilt her into anything." He was more terrifying than he had been with Victoria, even.

"Relax," Aro said lightly, apparently bothered by nothing. "But the offer _always_ stands," he said, looking around Edward to me. "I still never found out what you were capable of," he said with a sigh.

"Actually, that's why I wanted to talk to you Carlisle," I said softly. Aro looked like he was dying to be a part of the conversation, but that wasn't going to happen. "Out in the hallway?" I asked.

Edward released me, and Carlisle and I strode out the doorway and down the hall a little ways.

"Yes?" he said patiently, turning to me.

"Well, I think Robert probably told you what I was capable of?" I asked. He nodded. "It doesn't seem to be working anymore. Why is that?"

"Well," Carlisle began, thinking it over. "I think that, maybe, the stress of the situation caused your senses to be heightened. You needed some way to communicate without appearing to do so, and your body compensated for you. Now that the danger is gone, you don't need it anymore."

"Really?" I couldn't believe that could happen.

"That's my best guess," he said with a shrug. "Our existence isn't really an exact science. It's hard to be really sure of anything, but that seems to be the most logical explanation."

"Huh," I said, thinking back over the days events. Time was passing so strangely now; I couldn't believe that only five days ago I had been human, in a wedding dress, walking down the aisle with Edward. It already seemed so far away.

I walked back inside to find Edward sitting on one of the sofas completely at ease. I sat down next to him, and curled into his shoulder. "Let's get out of here."

--

ahhhh i hope you liked it!! review please, I'll be getting the next chapter up soon, I just wanted to make sure this one got up before the book came out. **Also: ** I'm planning to write another story soon, but i have no idea what I'm going to write about, so if you like how I write and want to see a story about something in particular, let me know! If I like the idea and think I can do it justice, I'm pretty flexible about tackling new ideas. Thanks! (review!!)


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Sixteen

**A/N: ** I'm so sorry this took so long guys... obviously I took a break to read the real Breaking Dawn, and after that it was difficult to proceed lol ... I was a little torn about how to proceed, because there are some things Stephenie DID do that I was PLANNING to do with this story, but she beat me to it haha... particularly Bella's first hunting scene - I'm still not sure how to proceed with that - it was going to be almost EXACTLY like the real Breaking Dawn, so I REALLY need your feedback on how you think I should go with that. **ALSO**: I'm interested to know how you guys think my story rates against the REAL one (but don't be too harsh, only tell me things you liked about mine better, of course :-p) okay, so anyway, this chapter is particularly short, and for that I apologize as well, but I figured you'd want a short something rather than wait a long time for something a bit more substantial ... hang in there, I'll be getting back into it soon! Read and review!

**Disclaimer: Not Stephenie Meyer, and I don't own anything you recognize. Anything similar to the real Breaking Dawn at this point is merely coincidence, and is not intentional.**

Chapter Sixteen

The journey home was a strange one. I had wanted to stay behind to help clean up whatever damage was left; this was, after all, almost exclusively my fault yet again. However, everyone had insisted that I had had quite enough to deal with already, and insisted that Edward take me home. We walked quickly down the long drive, and I paused at the bottom.

"What's wrong?" he asked, voice full of concern.

"It's just so strange," I began, slowly. "It's like I'm … _graceful," _I finally said after a moment. Edward stared at me for a long moment, motionless, before bursting into laughter. "No, really!" I insisted, dropping his had for a moment and twirling with such poise that I could've put a ballerina to shame.

"I wasn't doubting you, love," he chuckled. "How could you _not_ be graceful now? Your senses can now move so much faster than you're giving them credit for," he insisted. I realized he was right. Since the moment I woke up, I hadn't really put my new senses to the test: I had continued along at the human speed I was accustomed to without a second thought.

"How do I test it?" I asked.

"Let's run," he suggested. I gulped, and was astounded at how loud the sound was.

"Let's… not," I concluded.

"Oh, not_ still _afraid of hitting trees, are you, love?" he asked, but I could hear the hint of a smile in his voice.

"No," I insisted, but my voice betrayed me, cracking.

"Come on, I'll prove it to you," he insisted, and pulled me onto his back.

He took off at his normal speed, but it was unlike any ride with him I had ever experienced. I watched the woods fly around us, but took in every detail. I saw each carefully calculated move of his feet before he placed them. It was astounding.

"I know I'm graceful now, but this is pushing it," I insisted, doubting whether my senses could be improved enough to allow _me_ to run like this with ease.

"Nonsense," he said with a laugh, "but all the same, if it makes you feel better I'll wait until we're home to have you try it."

We ran in silence for hours, while I snuggled into the space between his neck and shoulder and continued to watch the progress his feet were making against the ground. I spent a good portion of the ride coming to understand my new senses. My new sense of smell alone was enough to keep me occupied for days. I smelled everything as we ran past, and it amazed me how distinct everything was. Each leaf, each blade of grass, every tree had its own unique scent. Sure, there was one smell that I associated with every evergreen we passed, but then I could also distinguish between individual needles on each branch. I was mesmerized.

"We're almost home, love," he announced after a while, and I could tell he was right. Though I had never experienced the scent of the Cullens like this, there was no doubt in my mind that I was smelling them now. The sweet, enticing smell of Alice was here, but magnified a thousand times over. I could pick out each unique scent that made up the overall aura Alice gave off.

"A lot to take in, huh?" Edward asked.

"Yeah," I whispered, stunned.

Seconds later, Edward's quick footfalls brought us into the large clearing, and I saw the house. Somehow, it was more brilliant than I had ever seen it. Everything seemed to be that way now. It was like I had _really_ opened my eyes for the first time, like I'd been wandering around my whole life with my eyes half-shut. I was always able to see, but it was only a dull representation of what was really there. Now that they were really opened, I was amazed at everything I'd been missing, but never known.

Now that I realized everything I'd missed, I assumed this must hold true for Edward as well. Ever since I had opened my eyes and found Aro's face above me, I had effectively suppressed every need other than survival, choosing instead to focus all my energy on getting out. In all this time, I never _really_ looked at Edward; I was too consumed by everything else.

But I wasn't too consumed to look now.

"Wait," I insisted as he headed for the front steps. I hopped down off his back, and he spun around to face me.

It was breath-taking.

If I had thought Edward was perfect, an angel, before, it was nothing compared to what I was seeing now. The sun shown down brightly; an odd day for Forks. It glistened off his skin, and I was awed. His eyes, his smile; everything I loved about him before was magnified past brilliance.

"If I could faint…" I muttered under my breath, but he heard every word and laughed.

"I should be saying the same about you," he insisted.

"Oh, am I finally up to par?" I teased, reaching up and pulling his face down to mine. I kissed him gently at first, trying to be seductive and in control. After that millisecond passed, I abandoned my attempts at restraint, and wrapped myself around him tightly. He tried to pull away to answer, but for once, I was the stronger one. I had more control. After a moment of fighting, he gave in, and resumed the kiss with much more enthusiasm. Then I released him.

"You've _always_ been so much better than par," he insisted, breathless.

"Yeah, you're supposed to say that," I said with a smile, dragging him towards the house.

"Wait," he said, steering me towards the garage. I reluctantly let him lead, satisfied knowing that I was only going because I wanted to. I would take advantage of this strength thing for as long as I could.

"What are we doing?" I asked warily, as he pulled open the door.

"The 'after' car," he insisted, flashing me my favorite smile. It still made me melt, possibly even worse than before. It was so much more dazzling now, human or not.

"I don't _need_ a new fast car," I groaned.

"Oh, one trip in a _normal_ car going the speed limit and you'd be begging for something faster," he stated, and dragged me to the back corner, where a large partition hid the "after" car from view. He insisted that a sheet would give too much away about the car, and so put this divider up instead.

"Get it over with," I moaned, pressing the index finger and thumb of my free hand to my temple.

"Close your eyes," he said with a smile, clearly relishing the moment.

I sighed loudly, mostly for show, and moved my hand down slightly to cover my eyes. He dropped my hand and I raised it to cover my eyes more tightly. I heard the sound of the partition being moved out of the way, and then Edward's footsteps back to where I stood.

"Okay, open them," he whispered from behind me, grabbing both my hands and removing them from my eyes.

"Oh Edward," was all I managed to say as I opened my eyes. I couldn't believe it.

My old truck.

"I thought it was _dead!_" I moaned after a moment, stepping forward and walking a circle around my truck, examining it.

"Oh, it definitely was," he said with a chuckle. "I had Rosalie fix it up for you."

"Fix it up?" I asked suspiciously, turning to where he stood by the front hood.

"Okay," he admitted sheepishly. "More than fix it up. In fact, the only thing she saved from your old car was the shell and the interior."

"What does that _mean_?" I asked, still staring at him.

"It means that it _looks_ like your truck, but can go about a hundred and fifty miles per hour _faster_," Rosalie said from the doorway. Funny, I had been so absorbed in the truck that I hadn't noticed her approach.

"This is fantastic," I insisted, opening the driver's door and sliding in. I could see instantly that Edward was right. The seats were the same, but the steering wheel, the entire dash, and even the stereo were totally new. I went to roll down the window, but realized the hand crank was gone, replaced with electric openers. I turned the key in the ignition and hit the down button.

"Wow," I said, stunned, hanging my head out the window. "This is fantastic, I owe you one Rosalie."

"For anyone else, I'd insist you look under the hood, but I think the miracle I performed under there would be lost on you," she said with a chuckle.

"I think you're right," sighed, and rolled the window back up. I turned the key to the off position and hopped out. "Really, thank you," I insisted. "This is so much better than the first, missile-proof beast."

They all laughed, and Edward grabbed my hand again.

"Come on," he insisted, pulling me towards the house again. "There's so much more for you to learn, let's go."

--

So it's short, but there it is. I was really hoping this would happen in the real book, but I'm glad to get to be the one to put it to words. As always, I LOVE your reviews and ideas, so leave them please!


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Seventeen

**A/N**: Sorry this took so long, as the return to college approaches, my life gets increasingly more stressful and I find it much more difficult to write. Especially with the raging guilt every time I sit down at the computer and realize that I really should be practicing instead. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter - I really got a kick out of writing it, It was definitely fun. As always, PLEASE leave some reviews... they make me happy and encourage me to keep writing hint hint.

**Disclaimer**: Not Stephenie Meyer, just playing with her characters. I don't own anything you recognize from the Twilight saga.

Chapter Seventeen

Edward led me back into the house and up the two flights of stairs to his room. However, before we reached the end of the hallway, we stopped short, at a door with a giant blue ribbon tied to it.

"But, aren't we…?" I asked, gazing off toward his room.

"What? No," he said, following my train of thought. "Well, it's not the same," he admitted reading my confusion. After a moment of staring at me thoughtfully, he gave in. "Oh fine, I can't believe you're making this wait," he sighed, and we walked off down the hall to his room. "This is so unimportant, and it's going to give it all away," he sighed again.

I was so confused, and his cryptic bits of sentences weren't making it any easier. When we reached his room, he dropped my hand, and motioned towards the door. "Go on," he said, bored.

I opened the door slowly and peeked inside, not sure of what I'd find, given his strange behavior. It looked exactly the same. Or, well, the same as it had the _first_ time I'd been here. The giant bed was gone from the center of the room, and everything was back to where it had been before.

"Well that's going to make things difficult," I mused, staring around.

"Bella, you can't be that thick," he murmured.

"What do you mean?" I asked, spinning around to face him.

"You mean… you don't…?" he asked, incredulous.

"Edward, you're driving me crazy," I moaned. I thought things were supposed to get easier now. If constant vampire attacks hadn't driven me over the edge yet, Edward would quickly do the job.

"Come on!" he insisted, grabbing my hand once more and leading me back down the hallway to that ribbon-clad door. "Close your eyes," he said excitedly and swept me off my feet.

Oh. Comprehension dawned on me the second before he opened the door. _This_ was our room. We weren't staying in _his_ room, we had our own now. I dutifully closed my eyes and waited as he carried me over the threshold and into our new room. He set me down on what felt like a hard wooden chair and stepped away.

"Okay, open them!" he cried, and I obeyed. I could see now that he had set me in a small chair in the corner of the room, probably to provide me with a complete first view. It was amazing. This room was far larger than his own, and it seemed that a wall had been knocked out to allow more space, though the perfect craftsmanship hid any trace of where another door might have left this room. I tried to recall if I had seen an extra door in this hallway before, but I had always been in such a hurry to get to _Edward's_ room that I honestly couldn't recall what the hallway looked like – not even the color of the wall paper, or paint, whichever it was.

There was a giant bed in the center of the room, probably king-sized, but it really seemed so much bigger than that. It matched the old one that had previously occupied his room in every aspect except for its larger size. The entire back wall was made of huge glass windows that matched the rest of the house. This room also had a few different sofas; some were black leather like Edward's, but there was one in the corner that caught my eye. It was a little loveseat, a perfect replica of the one from Charlie's living room. It faced a giant flat screen TV situated above a giant shelf of DVDs. I bent down to look over the titles and was astounded to find an entire shelf devoted solely to _Romeo and Juliet_. He followed my gaze, and chuckled.

"Every one ever made," he laughed. "I checked."

"Edward, this is…" I muttered, speechless.

"I thought you might like a little something to help you remember," he shrugged, eyes on the loveseat.

I nodded silently, and continued around the room. I came to stop at a rather large bookshelf, and eyed some of the titles. _Wuthering Heights, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, _the complete works of Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte… all of my favorites. But they were all brand new.

"Aw Edward," I moaned, "Do you know how long it took me to break in the spines on all of those books? I mean, I know I've got the time to do it again, but still…"

"Relax," he laughed, and reached for the painting hanging over the bookshelf. I hadn't even noticed it there in my haste to check out the books. Amazingly, behind the painting was another large shelf built into the wall, housing all of my old books.

"So why couldn't _these_ just go on the shelf?" I moaned.

"Oh relax, those are just for show," he laughed. "We can't have these old ratty ones taking up shelf space, can we? What if someone _sees_ them, what will they think?"

"That I've actually read the books and don't just _collect_ them!" I whined.

"Oh." His face went blank for a moment. "Hmm… I suppose you might be right. I'll have to think about that one." In one fluid motion, he replaced the painting on the wall and wrapped his arms around me. "So what do you think?"

"It's absolutely, utterly perfect," I sighed. "Well, accept for _that_," I amended, eyeing the painting that concealed all of my favorite novels.

"Good," he smiled. "We'll get our own place eventually," he began slowly, "but we thought it best if, while you're still, ah, _learning_, that we keep you close to home…and help."

A lump caught in my throat. He was worried that I'd be too wild, too out of control for him to handle alone, so he needed six other vampires close by to help. How crazy was I going to be?

"It's not your fault!" he added hastily, horrified by my expression. "We just think its best that we take absolutely every possible precaution until we know exactly what you're going to do."

"Yeah, yeah," I said, sounding surprisingly like Jake. Edward heard it too.

"Stop that Jacob," he said, rolling his eyes, but then smiling and bending down to kiss me. Quickly I grew far too enthusiastic, but it was wonderful that, finally, Edward didn't need to restrain me for my own safety. His enthusiasm finally matched mine, unrestrained. Still, all too quickly he broke the kiss, and I heard why; Alice was thundering into the house and up the stairs like an elephant. Edward read my quizzical expression at the noise and laughed. "She probably sounded like a pixie to you before, when she'd run around all crazy," he sighed, "but this is what she_ always_ sounds like to us. You'd think an 800lb man was running up those stairs, huh?"

"I heard that," she growled, appearing in the doorway suddenly. "I can't believe you showed this to her _without_ me!" she moaned, walking over and smacking him hard on the arm.

"Calm down," he said, rolling his eyes at her. "I didn't show her the, ah, _best part_," he assured her, but I could tell by his tone that he didn't agree that it was the best part of the room. However, this statement brightened Alice's expression tenfold.

"Ohhh, come on then!" she insisted, pulling me out of Edward's arms and leading me towards a small door at the far end of the room from the door she'd entered. How had I not noticed a door there when I was examining the room? I must've been really focused on the books, I decided.

The obliviousness I'd felt when Edward led me towards our room was no where to be found as Alice led me away again. This time, I knew exactly what was coming, and groaned loudly. Alice whipped her head around and glared fiercely, all but growling at me. Still, no amount of intimidation could remove the dread I felt being led towards this particular room.

The _closet_.

She wrenched the door open to reveal a room much too large to be a closet for any _normal_ person, and led me along the shelves. "Now, I've taken the liberty of arranging this in a _very simple manner_ for you," she explained. "So easy, you couldn't possibly mess it up."

"Yeah, okay, sure," I muttered, and Edward chuckled from the doorway.

"You may as well come in too, Edward," she snarled at him, not appreciating his laughter as I had. "Your clothes are all in here now, too."

Grudgingly, he walked in and stood by my side. Alice continued.

"Now, this is Bella's side," she said, gesturing along the rows of clothes lining the left wall, "and this is Edward's." She indicated the right. Along the back wall was a large, lighted vanity mirror running the entire length of the wall from floor to ceiling. "Clothes are separated by season, then type, then finally by color. I expect that _every_ time you get dressed, you will evaluate yourself in this mirror and ask yourself, 'would Alice approve of this outfit?'"

Edward and I hesitantly exchanged a look, and then burst into involuntary laughter.

Alice was livid. "This is _not_ funny," she insisted. "I do _not_ want you two running around looking like you dressed yourselves from a trash bag full of clothes from the Salvation Army!" she growled. "If you're not going to take this mirror thing seriously, then I am going to send you back up here to change repeatedly until I approve of your outfits."

"Fine," I laughed. "I'll ask the mirror if you approve _every_ time I get dressed," I promised.

"Good, because I'll hear you if you _don't_," she warned, but her tone was more playful now.

"Thanks Alice," I said, giving her a tight hug. "I really do appreciate it. You know I'm terrible with clothes."

"Yes… and so is Edward. Though, years of training have done wonders for him, he's finally starting to realize what matches and what doesn't."

"Hey, I've been dressing myself just fine for years," he retaliated.

"Yeah, you should've seen him getting dressed for years of high school," Alice interjected. "He incessantly forgot to dress for the twenty-first century."

"I looked _fine_," he insisted.

"For a grandfather. I don't care if you were born in 1901, Edward, you _have_ to keep up with the times when you're in high school!"

"Whatever," he sighed. "It's not like it matters when you insist on dressing me all the time. It's impossible to find anything to wear that you wouldn't approve of, because you _buy_ all the clothes I wear anyway."

"With good reason," she insisted.

"Hey, guys, I know we have an indefinite amount of time on our hands now, but can we _not_ argue about clothes?" I asked. They both turned to me. "I mean, personally, I'm fine with having Alice dress me for all eternity," I said.

"You'll regret that statement soon," Edward laughed, but the subject was dropped.

We all walked out of our room and headed down the stairs to see what the others were up to. I stood, gazing out the large glass window and taking in the wondrous scenery behind the house for a long moment, when suddenly a few sounds completely derailed me. The first was the crunch of tires turning off the highway and onto the drive leading up to the Cullen's house. The second was the steady pounding of a heartbeat, growing louder as every second brought it closer. I inhaled deeply, and even from this distance, there was no mistaking the driver of the car.

It was Charlie.

"Oh no," Edward growled, looking out the front window. "We were supposed to get back from our honeymoon today. We told Charlie we'd be going straight to school from there, that's why you said your goodbyes already. He wants to surprise you, and see you one last time before you go to school," he explained, his words a blur.

"He can't see her this way," Alice gasped, staring at me horrified.

"What do I do?" I asked, panicked. I couldn't be around my father now, who knows how I'd react?

In a flash, Emmett was at my side, along with Edward. "We'll take her upstairs," Edward said quickly, "and we'll do whatever it takes." He didn't need to explain these words for me to realize that he meant to restrain me, to keep me from killing my own father. "Alice, you go down and greet Charlie, explain that our flight was cancelled, or our car broke down, or even that we already left, whatever you have to say, just make Charlie go away!"

He grabbed my hand and Emmett grabbed my other elbow as a precaution, and we flew up the stairs to our new room. In a flash, Jasper was by my side as well.

"Just in case," he shrugged at me, and I nodded. He understood these things better than I did, given all of his previous experience with newborns.

"I couldn't hurt Charlie," I denied, but my voice betrayed me. I had no idea if I could hurt Charlie, but I was too afraid that I really _could_ to risk putting myself anywhere near him. The situation was made so much more difficult by the fact that I could hear the conversation passing below us, knowing I couldn't go see him. "Just let me listen," I begged them, struggling towards the door to hear better. "Hold me as tight as you want," I insisted, holding my arms out to them, "just please let me listen."

Edward couldn't deny the pain in my voice, so he opened the door, led me over to it, and held me fast. Jasper and Emmett both followed suit, and so I stood in the doorway, held fast by these three strong vampires, confident that my newborn strength couldn't possibly match the three of them together. I listened to Alice's exchange with my father, wishing I could go down and see him.

"Alice!" he greeted her warmly, and I could hear him shuffle over to her, and even the sounds of the different fabrics rubbing together as he gave her a hug. "Are they back yet?"

"Yeah, well, here's the thing Charlie," she began tentatively. "They got home late last night, but then took off early for Dartmouth this morning."

"They did?" He sounded hurt, and my stomach twisted uncomfortably into a giant knot.

"Yeah… we didn't know you'd be coming by," she said, her voice filled with guilt.

"Oh, well… that's okay, I guess… she'll be home for breaks soon enough." His voice broke, and I couldn't take it anymore. I moaned rather loudly, but I was sure he couldn't hear me from where he was two floors below.

Suddenly, the wind wafting through the still open front door sent a huge gust up the stairs, and my nostrils were filled with Charlie's scent. This was the moment I had been waiting for, yet dreading since the moment I heard his car coming up the driveway. The smell was distinctly Charlie: all of the old scents I remembered from the house, but much more well-defined, and magnified. But there was something else… that rusty, salty smell I remembered all too well from every time that I had injured myself. I smelled his blood.

It happened so fast that I didn't register a moment of it until it was too late. In one fluid moment, my stomach rolled and lurched uncomfortably, and I found myself on one of our leather sofas, Edward's face an inch above mine.

"Are you alright?" he asked, alarmed.

"What was that?" I heard Charlie inquire from below.

"Oh um, I'm making Jasper move some furniture for me," Alice lied quickly.

"What happened?" I asked, looking up at Edward.

"You sort of … fainted," he explained, "but really, you_ can't_ faint… you really juts sort of fell over," he finished weakly.

"Sorry," I mumbled weakly. "It's just, the wind changed… I could smell Charlie, could smell his blood, and I couldn't take it."

"Wait," Jasper asked suddenly. "You mean to say that you smelled Charlie's blood and … and _fainted_?" he finished, incredulous.

"Yeah," I moaned, covering my face with my hands in embarrassment. "You know how I am around blood."

"Yes, but Bella, love, you _shouldn't_ be that way," Edward said, startled. "Not anymore."

"Wait… you're right," I said slowly. "I'm a vampire… a vampire who _faints_ at the smell of _blood?_" Now, that was just too ridiculous, even for me. I groaned loudly.

Emmett howled with laughter so loud that I leapt off the couch and punched him hard in the gut. He crumpled to the floor in pain from the strength behind my newborn punch.

"Emmett's watching a movie upstairs," Alice lied quickly to Charlie, before he could ask about the laughter.

"Loud boys," Charlie mumbled. "At least Edward's not that loud."

"How am I going to get over this aversion to blood?" I groaned, closing my eyes and flopping down onto the bed to think.

"Well, you're going to _need_ it," Edward sighed. "I guess we'll just have to take you hunting and see what happens."

"Pay up," Emmett said to Jasper, nudging him in the ribs.

"WHAT?!" Jasper growled, baring his teeth at Emmett. "It's the _first_ _day_… you can't honestly expect me to pay after _one day_."

"The girl is afraid of blood," Emmett insisted. "She's not murdering _anyone_… she'll pass out before _they_ do!"

"You're sticking to the _stupid_ bet?!" I roared, turning on Emmett. "Edward, open the window," I warned, "Or Emmett is going to _break it_ on his way through."

"Hey, easy now," Emmett warned, but Edward and Jasper laughed, pulling the windows open. I picked him up in one easy motion. He fought, kicking and screaming, but I managed to throw him out the window before he could resist enough to get down. He flew at least half a mile before sinking down into the trees and out of sight.

"Whoa," I mumbled, marveling at my strength. Edward and Jasper were on the floor, rolling with laughter. They shook the floor boards. I grinned sheepishly. "Guess I don't know my own strength yet. Oh my god, Charlie!" I moaned, darting for the door.

"Relax, love," Edward choked, straightening up. "Alice had him out the front door right before Emmett told Jasper to pay up, he didn't hear any of that."

"Good," I sighed, and slumped onto the floor next to Edward, leaning my head against his shoulder and chuckling. We sat laughing for a moment, and then Carlisle, Esme, Alice, and Rosalie flitted through the door.

"What's so funny?" Carlisle asked, a warm smile on his face.

"Bella just threw Emmett out the window," Edward chuckled, motioning toward the large, open wall.

Alice roared with laughter like Jasper and Esme and Carlisle chuckled lightly, but Rosalie looked appalled.

"She _what_?!" she cried, running to the window. She jumped out and landed gracefully two floors below, taking off into the woods after him.

"Oh, she's going to like me even _less_ now," I sighed, watching her go.

"Don't worry," Edward assured me. "She'll come around eventually."

--

I hope you liked it... please review!! I'll try to get another one up soon!


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Eighteen

**A/N**: I finally shoved my indecisiveness aside and got another chapter done! No extravagantly long a/n this time, as I'm sure you're very happy. As always, please read and review! the reviews make me happy, and pretty much the more I get, the faster new chapters come out lol. oh **PS**: thanks for the heads up on the name switch in the last chapter! it was one of those times when I just didn't even see it, but once you pointed it out I fixed it quickly lol - thank you!

**Disclaimer: ** not SM ... don't own these characters.

Chapter Eighteen

I stood at the window and waited for a few minutes, anxious for Rosalie and Emmett to return. Edward assured me everything would be okay, but I wasn't so sure. If Rosalie had thrown _Edward_ out the window, I certainly wouldn't be forgiving anytime soon, and Rose seemed to be more likely to hold an insane grudge for a while than me.

I heard their return before I saw them. They were moving swiftly, and it only took about ten seconds from the moment I heard them until I could see them rushing through the trees. They slowed to a human-like walk as they breached the trees at the edge of the clearing, and I could easily make out their facial expressions. Rosalie, to my horror, glared daggers at me and I was taken aback, even from the distance.

"Oh no," I moaned, and Edward stepped to my side and followed my gaze. To my surprise, he chuckled.

"Oh she's angry alright," he said, confirming my fears. "But it won't last long … a few hours, tops. She's actually still feeling quite sympathetic towards you… her feelings about the whole ordeal with Aro are still there."

"Well that's … good, I guess," I mused, still watching as she and Emmett made their way back to the house.

"Yeah… as harsh as she is, she really does have a soft spot for poor, defenseless creatures," he laughed, grinning my favorite crooked smile. Excuse me? What part of "newborn vampire" constituted "poor, defenseless creature" in her book? Even though he couldn't hear my thoughts, he answered them. "You were kidnapped and bitten, and held against your will. Even as a strong, powerful newborn, that's still an unfortunate situation, and she sympathizes with you."

"I guess," I muttered, and gazed back out the window. Emmett and Rosalie were standing below it now, looking up. I backed up a few feet and they leapt into the room, Rosalie followed by Emmett. She stomped off past me without a word, but her glare was one of the most menacing things I had ever seen (including Victoria). Emmett followed, but paused at my side.

"That was impressive!" he chuckled, but then after a moment he roared with laughter. "I only wish it had been someone else so I could've watched!"

Rosalie scoffed from somewhere down the hall. Wait, he wasn't angry? I had just picked him up bodily and thrown him from the house, and he thought it was funny? I cringed. It was clear that, no matter how formidable I tried to appear, Emmett would always be laughing at me. I would always be his "baby sister", even with this strength that far out-weighed his own.

The mayhem died down and everyone left Edward and I alone in our new room. I went and flopped down on the old loveseat mostly out of habit, and sat to think for a minute.

"You _would_ choose that chair, when there are numerous _better_ options to choose from," Edward laughed, coming to sit beside me. He wrapped his arms around me, and I leaned into his shoulder. "What's on your mind?" he asked.

"I dunno," I sighed, and it was true. My mind was everywhere and nowhere all at once. A thousand thoughts ran through my head each second, each one retreating just as quickly as it had come.

"It's a lot to take in," he mused, staring off thoughtfully.

"Yeah… I'm still not used to these senses," I admitted. "It's so hard to describe, though I'm sure you understand," I began slowly. "To smell _everything_… things I didn't even realize _had_ a scent. Every grain of wood, every hair in the carpet, every page of each of those books," I said, waving my hand towards the bookshelf. I could smell hints of my old home coming from the books concealed behind the painting there; a coffee stain from when I had once spilled on one of the pages of _Pride and Prejudice_, the smell of lasagna from one of the many times I had multitasked, reading _Wuthering Heights_ while preparing Charlie's dinner at the same time … I didn't realize how these scents could linger so long after the events that brought them about had passed. I thought with horror about how my breath must have smelled to Edward when I was still human … if the scent of so many meals never really left my teeth….

"What's wrong?" he asked, reading my expression.

"Okay Edward, don't lie … how terrible did my breath always smell?" I demanded.

He was slightly derailed, clearly not expecting this particular topic. "What do you mean?" I explained about the scents I was picking up from the books, and he laughed. "Bella, the way your scent appeals to me … how could you possibly think I _ever_ paid attention to your breath?"

I scowled. "You're placating me," I mumbled, and he laughed again.

"Of course I'm not." He smiled. "What else is overwhelming you?"

"Well, my sight, too, of course. I imagine this is what it's like to go through your whole life not realizing you need glasses, and then you finally get some. I never realized how flawed my vision was until it was improved. I never knew what I was missing."

"Interesting analogy," he said thoughtfully. "Go on."

"Well, then there's the hearing, of course."

"Uh huh."  
"I could hear Emmett and Rosalie moving through the woods when they were incredibly far away. It's like I'm hearing everything at the same time."

"Yes, you'll get used to that," he said. "Right now, you're tuning in to everything you're hearing. Eventually, you'll become so familiarized to certain sounds that you won't _really_ hear them anymore."

"Highly unlikely," I sighed.

"No, really," he argued. "For instance, the lights humming… they must sound annoyingly loud to you, right?" I nodded. "I barely hear them anymore. I've just learned to tune them out. You used to live in Phoenix, you must've done the same thing with fans," he suggested.

Thinking back, I realized he was right. It was so normal to have multiple fans running in our house all the time, I got to the point where I never even heard them anymore and forgot to turn them off.

"The rain, too," I added. "When I first got to Forks, I couldn't sleep for weeks because of the rain."

"I remember," he laughed.

"Yeah, but eventually I got used to it and didn't really hear it anymore."

"See," he said. I nodded again.

We sat in silence again for a long few minutes. My mouth felt very dry, and the feeling grew more and more irritating the longer I sat in silence.

"I'll be right back," I said, standing and heading towards the door. He stood and followed.

"Where are you going?" he asked, concerned.

"Just down to the kitchen, I'm a little thirsty," I admitted.

He grabbed my arm and held it tight for a second. "And what are you expecting to find in the kitchen?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well a glass of…" I trailed off. Oh. DUH. Vampire now. Nothing that I was craving was going to be found down in their kitchen. "Not blood," I denied, and felt my eyes grow wide.

"Well I don't know what else you expect to drink," he said skeptically.

"Edward, I can't drink blood," I moaned. "I thought that my aversion to blood would miraculously disappear once I was changed, but it's not! I don't know _why_, but I'm sure if I try to drink any I'll pass out – er, whatever it was that I did before." I sighed.

"Maybe animal blood will be different," he said soothingly. "We _have_ to try." I grumbled to myself, but didn't see how I had any other option. I knew the thirst would only get worse. "Emmett, Jasper, we're going to hunt," he said in a clear voice, and I heard as both boys made their way up to our room.

"Oh, not Emmett," I moaned.

"Sorry love," Edward whispered sympathetically. "He's the strongest of all of us, and with your newborn strength, we need him. Just to be on the safe side."

"He's just coming along to _laugh_ at me," I sighed. At that moment, Emmett and Jasper walked through the door. I glared at Emmett. "If you so much as _smile_ at me," I began warningly.

"Hey now Bell, give me some credit," he said. "I won't laugh at you… _too_ loud," he added more quietly.

"He _has_ to come?" I whimpered, staring up at Edward. I tried to make my eyes as doe-like as possible, and I don't know how well I pulled it off, but he wasn't buying it, regardless.

"Yes," he said firmly. "We need him. What if something happens and it's only you and I? You're too strong for me right now. It's not a risk I'm willing to take."

I turned on Emmett. "If I hear so much as a chuckle, I'll throw you through a _boulder!_" I warned. At this, he roared with laughter, but promised that he'd control himself while I hunted.

Edward led me over to the still open windows, and made a gesture indicative that I should jump. "Now?" I croaked weakly. Or, it was as close to croaking as my new voice could get.

"You've got to start somewhere, love," he said, flashing me an encouraging smile.

I turned to Jasper and Emmett; the former was standing motionless, expression blank while the latter grinned at me with his arms folded across his chest. I narrowed my eyebrows at him, and he caught himself and stopped smiling.

"Here little sis, let me show you how it's done," he offered, and crossed to the window. He leapt extremely gracefully and landed on the ground two stories below with a flourish. "You're all into the extreme sports now, it's just like your cliff diving! Piece of cake!" he called up at me.

"Jasper?" I said, turning to him.

"Sure," he said simply, and followed Emmett's example. This left Edward and I standing alone in our room once more.

He read the anxiety in my face and said, "Bella, love, it's so much easier than you think. Just _try_ it."

"Jump with me?" I asked quietly, trying to prevent the boys from below from hearing me, but sure they could anyway.

"Sure," he said smiling, and grabbed my hand. "On three." He counted us off, and we jumped.

It _was_ like the cliff diving in La Push, but a thousand times better. The incredible rush of free-falling through the air was there, but made better by the fact that I could see in clear detail every single object surrounding us. It was almost like falling in slow motion in the way that I could take everything in, but it still _felt_ like I was going quite fast.

"Plant your feet," he instructed just feet above the ground. I shifted my feet to impact the blow; my toes had been pointed at the ground as I jumped, as if I _were_ diving into water. The impact was as if I had fallen mere inches to the ground instead of two stories.

"Not so bad, eh?" Emmett said, reading my expression of relief. I shook my head. I contemplated thanking him for being a much better sport than usual about this, but I was afraid to jinx it, so I kept my mouth shut.

"Now, you remember how it felt to jump?" Edward asked. I nodded. "Running is very much the same… your senses are able to keep up much better than you give them credit for."

I nodded again. "Let's do this."

We took off running through the trees, and Edward was absolutely right. The motion sickness I feared would come with the running was not a concern anymore. As a human, my senses had _not_ been able to keep up, and that's what made me dizzy. Now, I was so much quicker, and seeing each and every detail as I flew past was no longer a concern. It was amazing, and freeing. Like riding the motorcycles with Jacob, but a thousand times better. There was no invisible, angry Edward to yell at me now, but in his place a real, solid, smiling Edward running beside me.

We ran for a while until we were deep out in the middle of the woods. We paused about 500 feet short of a small clearing with a stream running through it.

"Now Bella," Edward said in a low whisper, "before you do anything just stop and smell." He turned me so that my back faced away from the clearing.

"I smell… deer?" I asked, sniffing deeply. The smell came wafting towards me, and somehow I knew what it was. Mingled in with the woodsy scent was that familiar rusty, salty smell, but not quite the same. Clearly it was blood, but it didn't smell the same as Charlie's. "I smell blood," I said, wrinkling my nose.

"Okay, now I know you don't like it, but we're going to have to try this, love," Edward whispered again. "I have a feeling that once you _taste_ it, you're probably going to get over your aversion to it real quickly. I'm hoping that the distinctive smells between animal and human blood will hold. It would be wonderful if you only enjoyed the smell of animal blood, it would make the whole self-control thing so much easier."

"Now let your instincts take over," Jasper urged. I wasn't sure how to do it. "I saw you in the tower with Jane," he pressed on. "_That_ was your instincts taking over."

I thought back to that moment, took a deep breath, and turned. Suddenly, I found myself standing over a huge 12-point buck with a gaping gash in his neck, but no blood running anymore. Whoa, had I done that? My instincts took over so completely I barely remembered my actions. Now that it was over, I recalled dashing across the field and tackling this buck. It became clear to me why Edward had insisted I never be anywhere near him while he hunted; it was virtually impossible to control yourself once you allowed your instincts to take over. He was also right about the blood thing; I had really enjoyed that deer.

"Alright!" Emmett called, pumping his fist in the air.

I grinned a little sheepishly. "How did I do?"

"Wonderful," Edward smiled, wrapping his arms around me. "Absolutely perfect."

"A little messy," Jasper amended, looking me over. "You'll get neater with time."

I looked down at my shirt and jeans. "Oh man, I hope that comes out…" I said aloud, but to myself at the same time.

"Why? Now that you've worn that outfit once, Alice is never going to let you wear it again," Jasper said with a laugh.

"I suppose you're right," I agreed. "Is anyone else going to hunt?"  
"No, we took care of that before we came," Edward explained. "We all wanted to be completely alert to help."

"Let's be getting back," Jasper advised, and with that Edward grabbed my hand and we began our return to the house. Running was so exhilarating, and it was hard to believe that this was ever something I had feared. It was one of the most amazing things I had ever experienced.

When we got back to the house, Alice stood next to the back door, awaiting our return. The troubled look on her face twisted my stomach into a quick knot.

"When?" Edward growled.

"Four minutes ago," Alice whispered, holding out Edward's tiny silver phone.

"What is it?" Emmett and I asked in unison. Alice shook her head silently, and Edward slammed his finger onto the number one button, calling his voice mail.

I would've given anything at that moment _not_ to be able to hear the voice coming through the speakers. I would've preferred to remain blissfully ignorant about who could possibly be on that other line. Unfortunately, one of the pros of super-human hearing is also a con: I could hear every word. I recognized the voice clear as a bell, as if he were standing in the room with us at that very moment.

It was Aro.

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dun dun dun!! lol I hope you enjoyed this chapter! things are going to get exciting again! yay! just another reminder, the more reviews, the quicker I write! lol so do it! please and thank you :-)


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Nineteen

**A/N**: yay for reviews! I love you all lol ... there were a few things I was going to address, but I've since forgotten them all. Oops. Oh well... enjoy this chapter, and review.

**Disclaimer**: not SM. Don't own Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, or Breaking Dawn.

Chapter Nineteen

"This message is for Bella in particular," Aro's voice rang sweetly through the receiver, "but it does concern everyone in the, ah, _family_. It saddens me to see how short our last visit was, and so Marcus, Caius, and I all felt it was our duty to rectify that situation. It's only polite that Bella should come have a more _formal_ meeting with us to discuss the rules and such. It is in your best interest that you not put off returning this phone call any longer than absolutely necessary. We look forward to _seeing_ you, Bella," Aro finished in a disgustingly enthusiastic tone.

"They want to tell me the rules?" I asked Edward, confused.

"It's too bad I wasn't actually here to receive the call," he fumed, staring at the now silent phone. "I would've been able to hear his thoughts had we been on the phone, but I can't hear him through a voicemail. And I seriously doubt that's all they want."

"It _is_ customary for a member of the guard to meet with newborns to make sure they understand," Carlisle mused, "but I've never heard of all three _leaders_ requesting an audience with someone."

"I don't like it," Edward growled, and pulled me close. "They're up to something."

"I can't go to Italy," I whispered, horrified. "I don't think I can be around people right now! Especially with my eyes like this!" I turned to my reflection in the glass wall of the house, and examined my eyes. They weren't quite as vibrant of a red after hunting, but they were still fairly scarlet…I couldn't get away with that.

"We don't want _them_ coming _here,_" Rosalie countered, a little too hostile for my taste. Would she never get over the bit with Emmett? He himself had laughed it off.

"I'll call him back, that way I can hear what he's thinking," Edward said. He pulled the phone out of his pocket and began to dial, but Carlisle quickly pulled the phone from his hand.

"Perhaps I ought to field this one," he suggested, finished dialing, and held the phone to his ear.

I couldn't bear to listen to the conversation, so I curled myself tightly against Edward and thought furiously to myself, _please don't let them come here_.

"They won't," Edward said soothingly, stroking my hair.

I looked up at him in disbelief. "You heard that?"

"Of course I did."

"But … I didn't _say_ it."

"Oh!" he cried, apparently delighted. "I heard you!"

Carlisle cast a reproving glance in our direction. For the moment, I had forgotten who he was speaking to on the phone.

"Come on," Edward said enthusiastically, dragging me away and out the front door. He released my hand and jumped off the porch and paced around the front yard. I sat warily down on the front step, and he turned to face me.

"Are you thinking something now?" he asked eagerly. I nodded. I was thinking about Italy, and Aro, and all of the negative things that just kept happening to me. "Really? I can't hear you…."

_Really? Because there's a hell of a lot going on inside my head right now!_ I screamed at him in my mind. He looked completely taken aback. But of course… this was my ability to put thoughts _into_ someone's head, not Edward's ability to _read_ thoughts. Carlisle _had_ mentioned that it could potentially be stress induced, and what was more stressful than having the Volturi threaten to come here to Forks?

"Whoa," Edward said, stunned. "I'm sorry." He crossed over to me in a fraction of a second and scooped me up in his arms. "Nothing will touch you, I promise," he whispered. "You have nothing to fear."

Except everything. Sure, I was a little sturdier as a vampire, but clearly I was still a danger magnet. Bad things _still_ continued to follow my every step, and it seemed like they had grown stronger in response to my improvements.

"Emmett, come out here a moment," Edward said quietly. Emmett appeared in the doorway a second later, flanked by Jasper and Rosalie, with Alice dancing behind. Only Esme stayed inside with Carlisle.

"What's up?" Emmett asked casually. It amazed me how nothing ever got to him, no matter how dire the circumstances. He was still always Emmett, always up for a good fight, always eager to show off.

"Bella, think something at Emmett, let's test this," Edward said.

Emmett looked confused for half a second, but replaced that expression with a smirk almost instantly.

_Like what?_ I asked Edward in my head, rolling my eyes. I hadn't meant for him to hear that… I was so used to asking him rhetorical questions in my head that always went unanswered… this would be a difficult habit to break.

"Anything," he said simply.

_Um, I'm way stronger than you?_ I said to Emmett in my head, but it came out as more of a question.

"No way!" he barked, dashing to my side. "Throwing me out the window was a _fluke_, you got lucky, you caught me by surprise!" he protested.

Edward roared with laughter. He had, of course, heard what I had said to Emmett through Emmett's mind.

"So the ability is back again?" Alice asked curiously, looking me over. It made me sort of uncomfortable, to be sitting here getting scrutinized by my new family.

"So it would seem," Edward murmured.

Jasper had been so quiet that it took me by surprise when he finally spoke. "Maybe it doesn't come and go with stress," he suggested. "Maybe the feelings of stress help her _harness_ it."

Edward nodded fervently in agreement. "It did seem odd that an ability would present itself and then vanish just as quickly. Perhaps, the stress of her kidnapping made it strong, and when she relaxed, she lost it for a bit."

I didn't fully understand what they were saying, but it felt like I was sort of getting the short stick. "So my ability only works when I'm _stressed_?" I asked.

"No, no," Jasper said quickly. "I think it's easiest for you to _control_ when you're stressed," he said, articulating the difference. "I think it's something you could learn to control_ all _the time, but right now, it works best under pressure."

"We should speak with Carlisle," Edward murmured. We all fell silent for a moment, and heard Carlisle's footsteps crossing the living room to the front door, with Esme close behind.

Before he even made it through the front door, Edward let out a low hiss and pulled me closer to him. I cringed. That couldn't possibly be a good sign.

"What is it?" I whispered, but he just shook his head as Carlisle came through the front door.

"They're coming," he said simply: two small words that brought my world crashing down around me. I panicked.

"They _can't!_" I yelled, forgetting that speaking louder than a whisper wasn't necessary. "What about Charlie? And Angela and Ben and the wolves and Billy and everyone else? Aro knows about the wolves now! Surely they plan to do something about that?!" I turned to Carlisle with my final question.

He nodded solemnly. "He wasn't pleased that we'd turn another species against our own. He plans to look into that while he's here."

"Well, they're only coming just the three of them, right?" Emmett asked. "Piece of cake. I could take them all on _myself_ if you'd like, Bella," he said, giving me a wink and flexing his arms.

"Absolutely not," Rosalie demanded, throwing her arms around his waist protectively.

"Besides, it won't just be the three of them," Carlisle said, and Edward hissed again. "They're bringing the guard, of course."

"How many?" Esme asked, turning to Alice.

"I don't know, I can't see it happening yet," Alice admitted.

"Well that's good right? That means they haven't decided to do it yet?" Emmett asked.

"Hardly," Edward replied. "It just means that there are so many factors about how it's going to happen that have yet to be decided that Alice can't clearly see it happening yet."

A second thought occurred to me, but I chose not to voice it aloud. I was even careful not to _think_ it too loudly, in case I unknowingly transferred the thought to someone else. It didn't necessarily mean the plans weren't solid yet; it might mean that the wolves would be involved. The main reason I didn't voice this opinion was the fact that the wolves didn't even know we had a situation yet. They couldn't possibly have solidified their decision to help if they didn't know we _needed_ help yet.

Of course, wasn't it the right thing to do, to talk to them? Even if they chose not to be involved with our cause once again, wasn't it right that they should be informed of the threat that lay ahead for them as well? Regardless of what would happen with us, the wolves were still in danger of an attack as well.

"We should talk to the wolves," I said quietly, looking up at Edward. "Whether or not they choose to help us, they still need to know."

"Of course," Carlisle nodded. "They need to know what's coming."

"I'll go," Edward offered, and began to step away from me.

"I'll go too," I insisted, matching his step so I was once more right at his side.

"Bella," he began reprimanding, clearly not believing I should tag along.

"Please?" I begged, "I'll be _so_ careful, I promise." I really wanted to see Jake again… we hadn't _really_ spoken since the night before the wedding, and even though the need I felt for him before becoming a vampire had diminished, I still missed my friend.

"I'll come along too," Emmett offered, "to keep an eye on this one." He poked me playfully, but I appreciated the offer to keep me in line.

"Please?" I asked again.

Edward couldn't say no to me anymore. "Alright," he sighed. "Emmett, you never stray more than _two inches_ from her, you hear me?"

"Aye, aye," Emmett laughed.

_I could get away from you anyway_, I thought to Emmett. _But don't say anything, or even think it! If Edward even considers that he won't let me go!_

Emmett scowled at me, but kept his mouth shut.

"You'd better call and give them a warning that you're on your way," Carlisle stressed, and we all nodded in agreement. Edward pulled out his phone and I snatched it from his hand and dialed.

"Hello?" Billy's ancient voice answered.

"Hey Billy, its Bella," I said as cheerfully as I could muster. "Is Jake in?"

Billy went off to fetch Jake, and I tapped my foot impatiently on the ground. After a minute, Jake came on the line.

"Bella?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yeah Jake, how's it going?"

"Fine," he answered, rather reserved sounding. "How are… things?"

"I'm… okay," I said slowly. I didn't want to _lie_ and say that I was fine, but I didn't want to admit how worried I was, either. "Look, we need to talk to you. Sam, too … and soon."

"Uh, sure," Jake said. "I need a minute to get to Sam, but it shouldn't take long. Where do you want to meet?"

"Uh…" I cast my eyes up at Edward. He mouthed "the clearing". "In the clearing?" I asked Jake.

"Sure… we'll be there in ten minutes," he said.

"Okay thanks Jake… I'll see you soon," I finished, and hung up. There was no need to repeat what he'd said; everyone had already heard the entire conversation. "So let's go," I said, grabbing Edward's hand and turning in the direction we'd need to run.

"Wait," he insisted, putting a little pressure on my arm to hold me back.

"What is it?" I asked, alarmed.

"You need to stay," he insisted. I began to protest, but he cut me off. "I heard… never mind, you just need to stay." I could tell that statement wasn't up for debate. "Jasper, Carlisle, come with me instead," he requested.

It wasn't fair. I really wanted to see Jake, and now Edward wasn't going to let me. I was angry, but not in the mood to protest so I went inside. I began stomping up the stairs angrily, but after three broken steps, I lightened up a bit. I was way too strong to show off my anger physically; I would destroy the entire house before my mood even began to lighten.

"I'll fix those," I mumbled, and headed to our room. Emmett followed closely behind, chuckling. I turned on him. "Did you think of it?" I asked angrily. "Did you let him know what I said about being stronger than you?"

Emmett looked legitimately surprised. "What? No, Bells, I promise… whatever he heard that made him want you to stay he got from Jake, not from me." What had he heard from Jake to make him react that way? I had a feeling I would never get to find out.

I grabbed a book and settled on the old love seat, flipping absentmindedly through the pages while I waited for them to return. I still had issues with the patience aspect of being a vampire, and never needing to sleep definitely took a toll on my nerves.

They came back rather quickly, but it felt like a lifetime had passed. I listened as the three of them ran toward the house through the woods and was unsurprised when Edward leapt lightly through the window and took a seat by my side.

"Well?" I asked, looking up at him from the first page of my book. I hadn't gotten past the first paragraph; I just kept rereading the first sentence over and over.

"They're not sure yet," he said quietly.

"Not sure?" I didn't understand. How could they be unsure? Usually everything was so clear cut with them; usually they made their choice of what was right with barely a moment's hesitation.

"Well after Leah," he began, less than a mumble.

Of course. It slipped my mind with everything that was happening. They had lost one of their own fighting to save me, and I was asking them to do it again. "Oh," I mumbled weakly, and hugged my knees. So much was my fault. This was the first _death_ I had been responsible for, but I was clearly marked for disaster. _It's all my fault._ I thought the words to Edward because they were too painful to speak aloud.

"No, oh, no," Edward soothed, hugging me close.

_Yes_. I thought.

"You didn't ask to be kidnapped, love," he said softly in my ear. "They all knew what the risk was when they agreed to help. Please don't blame yourself."

I didn't say anymore, or think anything else for Edward. I just reflected to myself. We sat in silence for what felt like only a moment, but the clock reflected a few hours had passed.

There was a gentle knock on the door.

"Come in Carlisle," Edward said, and he opened the door gently and entered the room.

"I called Tanya," he said. The name struck a chord with me. Didn't I have enough to worry about? I knew Edward had guaranteed there was nothing there many times over, but I still couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy.

"Excellent," Edward said. "And?" he added for my sake, even though he already knew what news Carlisle brought.

"They've offered their services. They feel guilty for having turned us down multiple times, and really want to help now."

_Tanya in particular?_ I asked in my head, momentarily forgetting that Edward would hear it through Carlisle's mind half a second later.

Carlisle smiled sympathetically at me, and I took that to be a yes. Edward merely scoffed beside me and muttered "ridiculous."

Suddenly, Alice came speeding into the room.

"I _finally_ saw something!" she said excitedly. "It seems to be about three weeks off that I see them leaving Italy. I don't see anything here, of course, the wolves are still making up their minds, but we've got three weeks until the Volturi will even leave."

"A few weeks preparation will be good," Carlisle sighed, relieved.

"It will give us a while to prepare a strategy," Jasper agreed from the hall, appearing in the doorway a moment later.

"Let's take some time and regroup," Carlisle suggested. "Bella, you've got a lot to learn in a short amount of time, we're going to need to prepare you."

Jasper nodded in agreement.

"Bella, fighting?" Edward choked, staring down at me. "No, she can't…" he trailed off weakly, probably exploring every other possible option.

"It might come to that," Jasper said seriously.

_Please_, I thought to Edward. _I need to learn. I can't be a burden anymore. I'm sick of being Lois Lane, remember? Let me be Superman._

He shook his head wide-eyed. "There has to be some other way."

_I saved you from Jane_, I reminded him.

"Yes, and I'm still terrified thinking about it," he admitted.

"Shall we leave so you can continue this conversation?" Alice asked, irritated that she was only hearing one side.

"We'll strategize," Jasper suggested, and headed for the hall. Everyone else followed suit.

"I'll be so helpful you won't even have anything to do," I promised Edward. He scoffed again. "I just don't want to be in the_ way_ anymore."

"We'll figure something out and keep you safe," he whispered, pulling me close and kissing the top of my head. "I promise."

I snuggled into his shoulder, giving up for now. We'd figure more out tomorrow. I'd go to Jasper and Emmett for training if Edward refused to help. Maybe even Rosalie; I was sure she'd be willing to attack me a few times, especially with the excellent cover of insisting that she was doing it for my own benefit. We had three weeks still, which would seem even longer given that we wouldn't need to sleep, and we could figure this out.

We would _have_ to figure this out.

--

I hope you liked it, its sooooort of a filler chapter, more information than anything. I'll try to get the next one up soon. I love those reviews! hint hint.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Twenty

**A/N**: sorry this chapter took so long guys - the whole packing/practicing thing is getting in the way of writing. Just a heads up, I'm moving back to school on Friday, then my audition is Saturday morning - in the mean time I'm gonna be packing and practicing my ass off, so this story is probably gonna slow down a bit. I'm really sorry! I promise I'll try to write as often as I possibly can (trust me, every time I see a new review I get wicked excited and like, bounce off the walls - I don't really want that to stop, so I've gotta keep it going as much as possible lol) ... so just a heads up, if it takes me a few days to a week per chapter, please don't kill me! I'm a music major, so starting Friday free time is going to be hard to come by, but I promise I'll try. As always, PLEASE read and review! I love you all, and your reviews make me so so SO happy, you have no idea.

**Disclaimer**: Not Stephenie Meyer, don't own Twilight

Chapter Twenty

"I couldn't help but hear you mention training," Jasper said, standing in our doorway.

"Jasper," Edward began warningly, but Jasper pressed on anyway.

"If you want to get started, there's no time like the present," he said.

I got to my feet immediately and walked to Jasper. Naturally, Edward was half a step behind me.

"It's dark," Edward said warily.

"Even better," Jasper replied. "That means she'll have to work a bit harder."

Edward sighed. "I can do this," I promised, giving him a weak smile. He shook his head and pressed his fingers to his temple, but said nothing, following silently.

Jasper led me out into the backyard, with Edward trailing behind. Within seconds, Emmett and Rosalie were there as well. The five of us ran for a few minutes until we came to a large clearing. It wasn't the same one we'd been to when they played baseball; this one was a little smaller.

"I didn't think we should do this too close to the house, you might break something," Jasper explained to me and Emmett laughed. I growled at him, which only made him laugh harder. "First, let's see how you would react if you were attacked."

"I'll go first," Rosalie sneered, and stepped forward.

"No," Edward said, matching her movement.

"Would you prefer to do it?" Jasper asked.

Edward eyed me for a moment, his expression torn between horror and determination. "No."

"Okay then," Emmett said, clasping his hands together. "Let's go ladies!"

Rosalie sank down into a crouch and growled fiercely at me. Was the hostility really necessary? Surely she could attack me without the growling…

I realized I only had a fraction of a second to decide what to do – Rosalie was _not_ going to wait for me to prepare myself before she struck. I quickly decided that I would stay on the defensive, not attempting to strike until I saw a window of opportunity.

Rosalie lunged, springing at me like a wild cat. I quickly ducked, and she flew over my head. I spun around and lifted myself back into a crouch, watching her again. She stayed crouched as well, and slunk around the clearing, circling me. I turned slowly so I was always facing her directly.

This pattern ensued for a while, Rosalie circling then lunging, while I ducked or stepped out of her path. After a while, an idea occurred to me; I would feint. I kept my eyes locked on her face for a moment then, without warning, shot a glance towards Edward. I made myself appear to be distracted, and, as I suspected, she immediately lunged. Instead of ducking, I side-stepped and as she flew by me. Then I turned and pursued, and landed on her back. I quickly lowered my mouth to her neck and whispered, "I win."

I hopped down off her back and walked back toward Edward, Jasper, and Emmett. The first looked proud, the second pleased, and the third astounded. Rosalie hissed and stomped off into the woods, clearly upset at her loss. Emmett regained his composure and broke into laughter, but pursued Rosalie in her path towards the house.

"I'm impressed," Jasper admitted. "I was about to step in and stop you, I didn't think anyone was going to win. Initially, I thought it would be Rose, but you held up much better than I expected."

"Thanks for the confidence," I said sarcastically.

"Bella, you're _new_," he stressed. "Of course I expected Rosalie to beat you… that's nothing personal. Now, obviously that was very good. You kept up with the ducking and dodging very well. The only problem is, you really only won because you took Rose by surprise. You can't expect any of the Volturi guard to fall for that."

I scoffed, but knew he was probably right. That strategy might work against Rosalie, but not someone who was trained for this sort of thing. "So what do I do?" I asked.

Edward groaned at the thoughts he was hearing in Jasper's head. I couldn't even imagine what he might be thinking to make Edward so on guard, but I knew that I had to hide whatever emotions I might be feeling in order to have Edward allow me to continue.

Jasper walked me through some different techniques, demonstrating with Edward while I watched at first, and then gave me a shot. I held my own fairly well, but Jasper managed to beat me each time. Edward's expression grew more and more desperate the longer he watched my incessant defeats.

"Edward, relax," Jasper insisted. "Would you really expect her to beat _me_?"

"The guard will be able to beat you," Edward spat more harshly than necessary. Jasper looked taken aback.

"Excuse me? Why are we even going to _try_ if you think we'll be so easily beaten?"

"We _have_ to try. Better to fight back then let them slaughter us," Edward insisted. This side of Edward frightened me a bit. Where was all this defeatist talk coming from? It wasn't like him to surrender so easily… it scared me that he expected us to go so quickly, without even a chance.

"I don't believe that," Jasper whispered, shaking his head. "We'll have help, we'll…."

He trailed off, but I could tell his thoughts weren't resigned to our failure just yet because Edward shook his head, arguing with the thoughts that Jasper wouldn't voice aloud. The argument was temporarily suspended by the sound of quick footsteps coming from the house. Rosalie and Emmett made their way back into the clearing.

"Rematch," Rosalie stated, striding purposefully toward me.

I looked to Jasper and he nodded encouragingly. I turned back to Rosalie and crouched, ready for her attack. This fight was different than before. The last time, I had been on the defensive, hoping for a window where she might slip up. This time, I immediately took the offensive and pursued quickly. Rosalie was caught a little off guard by my aggression, but kept a level head. She dodged my attacks left and right until, finally, I closed in on her. Landing on top of her once more, I grinned and said, "Two for two."

The boys all laughed again, and Edward actually looked a little more relaxed. Perhaps he had a little bit more confidence in me this time. I hadn't just gotten lucky; I had applied what Jasper taught me and actually gained the offensive on my own.

Rosalie, of course, was put off once more, and sped towards the house so fast Edward would've been the only one who could catch her. This time instead of following, Emmett hung around, eager for a shot.

"My turn little sis," he grinned, and immediately attacked without warning. He slammed me to the ground, creating a giant crater in the middle of the clearing.

"No fair," I groaned, and he laughed, holding me down. _Should I throw him again?_ I thought to Edward, looking up at him. He grinned his crooked smile and nodded once.

When Emmett landed on me, I had my arms crossed over my chest, and so I pushed them forward with all my might, sending Emmett flying up into the air, in a giant arc, and he landed at the other end of the clearing, creating a crater of his own. He sat in a stunned silence for a moment, his face completely bewildered. Edward and Jasper stared at him for a moment, fighting the smiles that threatened to spread across their faces. After a moment, Emmett's shock turned into a grin and he roared with laughter. Edward and Jasper followed suit.

I, however, was totally frustrated. He would _never_ take me seriously! I _was_ a force to be reckoned with, but he would never see me that way.

He got up and dashed across the field to my side. "I'll give you another shot," he offered, and lowered himself into a threatening stance.

This time I was prepared. He attacked, and I dodged him even more efficiently than I had with Rosalie. He was stronger, but he was also bigger and slightly slower. He was, of course, one of the most graceful people I had ever encountered in my life, but next to the agile Rosalie, the difference was very apparent. I had to be a little more defensive, dodging his great lumbering attacks, but it wasn't difficult. Within a minute I had him pinned, insisting that we go best two out of three. From there it became three out of five, five out of eight, and so on until Edward insisted he let it go. I was glad to see Edward's expression visibly lightened; it had bothered me to see him so on edge.

Jasper strode over to me with a huge smile. "Bella, you're doing fantastically," he insisted. "Way better than I could've hoped for. Your self control is beyond belief, and it's really helping your skills."

"Thanks!" I smiled, relieved. I flitted to Edward's side in a second and threw my arms around his waist. "Still worried?" I asked.

"Yes," he admitted, but smiled and added, "but it helps a great deal to see that you're doing so well."

"Ye of little faith," I sighed, shaking my head. He tightened his arms around me.

"It's nothing personal. Just, seeing you in danger… I can't stand it," he whispered, clearly uncomfortable.

"I'll be okay," I promised. "We'll get through this and you'll see that you were worried about nothing." I forced a smile, but didn't agree with a word I said. I was absolutely terrified. Once again I was putting everyone I loved in danger, and it was killing me. I was afraid for every one of them but myself. I had already been through so much that I didn't have a trace of self-preservation; it didn't really matter what happened to me now. The only thought I couldn't stomach was the thought of someone _else_ getting hurt.

Edward must have read the fear on my face, but interpreted it incorrectly. If he'd been able to read my thoughts he would've known where my true concern lay, but instead he just assured me I'd be safe. The sincerity on his face made it difficult for me to _not_ believe it was true, even though I knew it was something he could never guarantee.

We headed back to the house but stopped short at the sound of heavy footsteps approaching. We watched the trees as two large wolves emerge, clearly Sam and Jacob. They had come to tell us whether or not they'd help. A lump rose in my throat as I remembered the reason for their hesitation.

"Close your eyes for a moment," Edward instructed me, "and uh, hold your breath."

I was confused, but obeyed.

A second later, Edward spoke again. "Okay you can open them… but I would still advise holding your breath."

I opened my eyes to find Sam and Jacob standing before us in human form, each wearing a pair of mesh shorts. Oh, so that explained the need to close my eyes for a minute. Also, holding my breath was definitely necessary. I decided that I would be a silent observer for whatever conversation was to pass; I couldn't risk taking a breath, but as long as I couldn't smell it, I would be okay.

"Hey Bella," Jake said with a grin. As occupied as I was lately, I still did miss having him around. I nodded and returned the smile. "What, you're not allowed to talk?" he asked bitterly, eyes on Edward.

_No you idiot, I'm trying not to breathe in your scent!_ I thought to him angrily. Edward heard the thought in Jake's head and chuckled.

"Oh," Jake said stupidly, staring at me. I rolled my eyes at him, and he laughed.

"To business," Sam said seriously, and Jake's smile disappeared. Edward nodded solemnly. "We've decided that we're only willing to offer the service of half our pack."

"What?!" I couldn't help but exclaim. Oh crap, there went my air supply. I wouldn't be able to say anymore until the wind shifted directions and I could take a safe breath again.

"Relax love," Edward said, rubbing my arm.

Sam continued. "In light of our recent loss, we think the best course of action is to preserve some of the pack. If the threat were directed at _us_, we might choose differently, but seeing as we're merely offering our services, we need to keep that in mind."

I was fuming, dying to scream at him but knowing it was unwise for me to take a breath right now.

"We will, of course, have the rest of our pack waiting just out of reach in the event that we should need any help. We will _not_ suffer another loss. If things are looking grave, we _will_ retreat. We're sorry, but we need to preserve _ourselves_ first," he said.

That was the final straw. I lost control of myself, and took in a deep breath, preparing to scream. In that instant, two things happened. My instincts immediately took over and I turned on Sam, poised to attack; my aversion to blood didn't seem to matter anymore. I wasn't sure whether that came from the experience of actually _tasting_ blood, or if it was due to my anger, but I definitely wasn't feeling faint anymore.

The second thing that happened was Edward's arms wrapping tightly around me and pulling me backwards. Sam and Jake phased immediately, shorts shredding into thousands of tiny pieces of mesh and falling to the ground. I didn't fight to keep my breathing under control as I struggled against Edward and began screaming at Sam.

"They pose just as much threat to you as to us!" I screamed, "Maybe even more! They're more likely to kill you all than us! They _know_ you're here now, and I'm _sure_ they're going to want to do something about it!"

I paused for a moment, staring intently at Sam.

"He seems to think they're not the guard's first priority," Edward said calmly, still holding onto me. I knew I was stronger than him, but I also didn't _want_ to attack Sam if I could avoid it. I was angry, but I didn't really want to _hurt_ him. I was scaring myself with my reaction, but I couldn't help myself. And why was Edward so calm? He was too concerned about me getting hurt and yet, here we had some of our allies bailing out on us and he took it without a word.

"Did you _tell_ them what Aro said about 'looking into it'?" I asked. I was losing it quickly. I couldn't wrap my head around what was happening.

Sam lifted his head slightly to look from me to Edward. Edward nodded, and said to Sam, "Yes, Aro did mention you, and I believe he did phrase it along those lines."

We stood in an anxious silence for a moment. Well, silent for me, anyway. Jake and Edward were both hearing all that Sam had to say; it was I alone who suffered in silence.

Eventually, Edward nodded, and Jake and Sam turned to retreat into the woods. "Bye," I said weakly as they left without even acknowledging me. "Well?" I asked Edward when they had gone.

"Sam still feels that his plan is best; if the Volturi should present a danger to the wolves, they'll have reinforcements near by, and will choose to run or to fight, depending on the situation. Of course, now this means Alice definitely won't be able to see a thing. She's not going to like that," he sighed.

We headed back to the house, and all the enthusiasm I had gathered throughout the night was gone. I wasn't sure how it could get any worse than the wolves choosing self-preservation over helping us.

In all fairness, I couldn't blame them. I realized that. They had already sacrificed themselves numerous times on my behalf, and had always suffered. Jake took a pretty serious blow, though he healed fast. Leah was a much more permanent and more recent loss for them. I hated how hypocritically angry I was at them for their reservations. If it had been one of my family who had gotten killed, I would vehemently refuse to let them fight, I knew that.

Edward and I took our time reaching the house, traveling at a mundanely human speed. It took us quite a while, and I saw the sun peeking through the trees at the edge of the skyline as we were approaching the backyard.

Alice was waiting impatiently, bouncing up and down just outside the back door.

"The wolves are going to help, aren't they?" she said excitedly. "I can see the Volturi approaching the clearing, and then it disappears! I can only see them up until that point when they enter the clearing!"

"Something like that," I mumbled weakly.

"What…?" Alice asked, confused.

Edward explained about their hesitations, and Alice nodded with a sigh. "Yes, I thought it might be something like that," she agreed.

"You did?" I asked, stunned.

"Well yeah, after Leah…" she trailed off, and I knew exactly what she meant. "It's hard for them. Though the bit about them not seeing the guard as a threat is a little difficult to swallow. You did tell them that they were planning to look into the wolf situation?" I nodded. "Well then… maybe they'll re-evaluate again. Who knows."

"You _should_," I said, the hint of a smile crossing my face.

"Oh ha ha," Alice mumbled at me.

It was a stupid joke, but it did distract me and lift my spirits a bit. Edward laughed as well, and his light-heartedness renewed my hope that maybe we weren't total goners yet. Maybe we still had a shot.

Edward pulled me close, and examined my eyes carefully. His scrutiny made me slightly uncomfortable, and I felt that I would've been blushing were I still able to. It was hard to remember how stunning I was, and that the self-consciousness was no longer necessary.

"You should hunt again soon," he murmured, tracing a finger under my eye. Were there dark circles there _already_?

"But I just went!" I argued.

"But you're a newborn," he countered, and I scoffed. "I know you don't like that we keep bringing that up, but it's a fact. You're going to be much thirstier than the rest of us for quite some time, so you'll need to hunt more often. You've got to be feeling it now, right?"

Honestly, I hadn't really noticed until he mentioned it, but he was right. I felt pretty thirsty already. I nodded. "A little," I admitted.

"Shall we go now, then?" he asked, seizing my hand.

"Um, one minute," I said, holding up a finger. "I sort of want to talk to Emmett first."

"Oh," Edward said, looking slightly surprised. "Of course. Emmett," he said in a clear voice, and Emmett appeared a second later.

"What's up?" Emmett asked with a grin.

"Can we talk?" I asked, and gestured with my head towards the back door. "It'll just be a minute, I promise. Edward, you can even time us, come on outside in 60 seconds, then we'll go hunt again."

Emmett followed me out the back door and into the woods. Within seconds we were out of hearing distance of the house, and I stopped and turned.

"Look," I began uncomfortably, unsure of how to begin such an awkward conversation. "I was wondering about… Rose." I practically had to force her name to leave my lips.

"Oh?" he asked. It was clear the topic caught him off guard. "What about?"

"Well, she doesn't… that is to say… ugh, she totally hates me!" I hissed quietly. As far as we were from the house, I was still secretly afraid that she'd hear.

"Oh…" Emmett said, not a question this time. "Well, it's hard for her. You knew how she felt about what you were giving up already; she said she talked to you about it." I nodded. "Now, you're actually pretty good at everything, for a newborn. Of course, she had some pretty wicked self-control as a newborn as well… those, ah, _murders_ weren't for lack of self-control. They were very much intentional."

"Yeah, and that part worries me," I said glumly.

I was surprised when Emmett laughed. "Okay, Bells, look… Rose is definitely not your biggest fan, but I can promise you she would _never_ do anything to bring you harm. Partly because you _are_, in fact, part of this family now, and partly because she knows how much it would hurt Edward."

"Is she ever going to _like_ me?" I asked, doubting it.

"Um, well… give her time," he sighed. "She'll come around. She's a bit more stubborn than the rest of us, but I swear she doesn't despise you as much as she pretends to."

"Really?" I asked.

"Definitely. She does sort of like you, but she likes her grudge more. Give her time," he repeated again.

"Thanks Emmett," I said, relieved.

"No problem little sis," he laughed, throwing his arms around me and squeezing as tight as he could. If I were still human, he would've crushed me to a pulp, but my new body could take it. I decided to test him out, and wrapped my arms around his waist. I squeezed hard, but not with all my might. Slowly, I tightened my grip more and more until finally he cried, "alright, that's enough! I know you're strong, stop rubbing it in!"

I laughed and released him. Just then, Edward appeared, leaning against a tree some five feet away. "Perfect timing," I smiled.

"I'm coming too," Emmett announced. "I'd hate to pass up the opportunity to see Bella ruin her clothes. I don't know how many more chances I'll get before she learns some self-control."

I rolled my eyes at him, then extended my arms out to Edward, grabbing his hands. "Let's hunt."

--

Yay, there's chapter 20! **PLEASE** review! and a **reminder** in case you already forgot - busy music major less time for writing, so please don't yell at me to hurry it up, I'm doing my best. Thanks!


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Twenty-One

**A/N**: so I'm all moved in, and i've got an audition in less than two hours, but I'm STILL getting chapter 21 up ... I'm just fantastic that way. Of course, classes start on Monday, so my writing time is going to take a hit ...i'm really sorry, but I think I'm gonna have to restrict chapters to once a week... I'll try to get them up more often than that, but really, my instrument comes first, sorry. please read and review!

**Disclaimer**: I'm **NOT** Stephenie Meyer.

Chapter Twenty-One

Emmett, Edward, and I took off into the woods behind the house. Edward slowed his pace a bit so that Emmett and I could keep up with him. Even as a newborn, my speed was still no match for Edward's, which astounded me.

The sun was just rising over the mountains when we caught wind of a trail, this time of mountain lions. Edward grinned, pleased; they were his favorite. Emmett scoffed and mumbled, wishing there were some grizzlies around. Much to his dismay, I also managed to keep my clothes much neater this time. Instead of wrestling with the lion, I caught it by surprise from behind and killed it quickly. I attempted to take my time drinking, but I was still too blood-thirsty and drank it greedily, finishing it in a matter of seconds. Emmett looked slightly taken aback by my aggression, but Edward just smiled, pleased.

"Not as good as grizzlies," Emmett mumbled upon finishing his lion.

"Well next time we go out (which will probably be soon, since I'm apparently going to be drinking a _lot_ for a while), we'll go for grizzlies," I promised him, sticking my tongue out.

He laughed and wrapped an arm around my shoulder, while Edward seized my hand. It was wonderful, and meant so much to me, to finally be connecting with Emmett. It seemed that my mortality had been a barrier between us, possibly because of his inhuman strength. Perhaps he was always trying to be careful not to break me like Edward, and so he'd kept his distance, but whatever the reason, my immortality had finally broken down those walls, and it was nice. Emmett was so wonderful to be around, and I was finding that his indefinite lightheartedness wasn't all that different from Jake's. It wasn't the same, of course, but I was beginning to find that Emmett sort of filled the hole Jake's recent distance had left behind. It was like a round peg in a square hole: it did fit, but it still left those open corners there.

We headed back to the house at a brisk run, but we were in no hurry. We opted to follow the river back; it was a bit more winding than necessary, but it made for a nice early-morning detour. Emmett showed off, jumping back and forth across the river with each long stride, smirking back at me and betting I couldn't do it. I easily matched his strides at double the pace, outstripping him and putting half a mile between us in seconds. Edward kept close on my tail, never allowing me to put more than a few feet between us at any given time. At first I thought he was being over-protective; after all, what could possibly hurt me now? We knew the Volturi were a few weeks off still… anything else I could handle now.

However, I was immensely glad of his persistence moments later when, without warning, I caught the scent of two human males close by down the stream. Instinctively I bent into a crouch and listened, ready to spring. Edward was restraining me immediately, and called out to Emmett to join him. He kept his voice low enough that only Emmett would hear him.

Emmett appeared a half a second later and helped Edward keep a hold on me. I couldn't have been more grateful for Emmett's presence in my entire life than I was at that moment. A few fishermen had come out at dawn to fish along the stream that would eventually bring us back to the Cullen house. I suppose they thought that they were far enough out in the middle of nowhere that they'd never get caught trespassing. It was certainly their lucky morning that I had not come alone.

My throat burned with the desire to tear them apart. In the back of my mind I was terrified by my reaction, but my desire and thirst were such prominent features in my thoughts that they drove any hesitations away. I didn't understand what was happening. Hadn't Charlie's blood made me nearly faint? Why was I suddenly ready to attack these two men we stumbled across? What did it mean that, suddenly, my aversion to human blood had completely vanished?

"Hold your breath!" Edward hissed quietly, and I did as instructed. I closed my eyes, too. I wasn't sure why, but I figured it couldn't hurt.

I was wrong. In eliminating my sense of sight, I heightened my sense of hearing. Suddenly, I could hear every move the two men made: the swish of the different fabrics they wore, the steady pulse of their hearts and their breathing, the sound as they blew on their coffee to cool it, and the sound as they sipped in slowly and nibbled on fresh muffins. I jerked my eyes back open quickly.

"Get me out of here," I mumbled weakly, using up what little air supply I had.

Edward nodded and Emmett released me. Edward threw me quickly onto his back and took off into the woods, taking a very roundabout path back to the house. Emmett trailed behind, not quite able to match Edward's speed, but keeping an eye on me all the same.

I took a quick breath in through my mouth and said to Edward, "let me know when I can breathe again."

"You should be okay now," he replied, "but make it a _really_ shallow breath and test it, just to be on the safe side."

He set me down and wrapped his arms tightly around me, and then I took in a slow, steady breath, tensed for anything. He was right, though. We were safely out of smelling distance, and about half a mile from the house; I could just make its form out through the thick trees.

"What _happened_?" I sighed, wrapping my arms around his waist and burying my head in his shoulder.

"I don't know," he admitted. "It seems you're not as in control as we thought."

"I'm _still_ weak," I mumbled barely audibly into his chest.

"No you're not," he said sternly, pushing me back to look me in the eyes. "If you don't believe me then you're going to have to sit down and have a long chat with Jasper. Wanting to attack a human is the most natural desire in the world for you right now, love; it would've been a miracle if you'd kept up your aversion to blood any longer than you did."

I sighed. "I suppose." Edward wasn't convinced.

"You're having a talk with Jasper," he said again with a firm nod.

Just then, Emmett appeared at my side. "Don't worry about it, it's perfectly normal," he said with a grin, punching my shoulder.

"Punch him back," Edward whispered with a grin, and so I did. I sent Emmett flying through the woods and into a large maple tree, which was completely destroyed with the sheer force of the blow.

"Damn it Bella," Emmett swore at me, but he was also laughing. "I can't wait until you lose that newborn strength. Hopefully it will happen before you destroy _all_ of the trees on the Olympic Peninsula by punching me into them."

Edward and I laughed along, but a sudden thought made me stop short. "Hey, uh, Emmett?" I asked quietly. "Can you um, _not_ tell Rose about that?"

He stared at me for a second, then laughed even harder. "Of course not," he agreed. "You don't need to give her any more reasons."

We laughed for a moment, and when we quieted down, Edward suggested we go see Carlisle now, and I agreed. Even though I_ knew_ this thirst for human blood was normal, it wasn't normal for _me_. I was anxious to see if Carlisle had an answer for how I had so suddenly lost my aversion to it.

We entered the back of the house to find Esme sitting in the living room reading a book.

"Carlisle's in his study?" Edward asked, though it was more of a statement than a question. He never even stopped moving, but had headed for the staircase from the moment we walked through the door.

"Yes," she replied, "just doing some hospital paperwork, I believe."

"Thanks," I said as Edward all but dragged me up the stairs.

Standing outside of Carlisle's office, Edward knocked and pushed the door open in the same instant, not even waiting for a reply.

"Edward," I reprimanded quietly; I didn't want to be a bother.

Carlisle chuckled. "Don't worry Bella, you're not interrupting," he assured me. "Come in, come in." He swiveled slightly in his chair so that he was facing us directly. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Well, we went hunting, and we came across some humans," I said with a flinch.

"Oh?" Carlisle asked, seeming vaguely interested.

"Yes, and Bella tried to attack," Edward finished for me.

"Oh!" said Carlisle, more interested now. "Only tried?"

"Yes," I said, momentarily insulted. Of course, half a second later I realized that this wasn't something I should take offense to; this was _normal_. My concept of the word had certainly never matched anyone else's, but it was warping so much these days that I found it quite difficult to keep up with it's definition at any given moment. "Emmett and Edward restrained me."

"Well thank goodness for that," Carlisle said, bemused.

"But her reaction with Charlie," Edward began, perplexed. "What's so different now? Why did that change so quickly?"

"Hmm," Carlisle muttered to himself, lost in thought. "Give me a bit to think on it, won't you? It's very strange…."

"Of course," Edward said, turning for the door. I followed. "We'll be in our room," he added, before stepping into the hallway.

"I'll be up soon," Carlisle promised, and I followed Edward to the stairs and up to our room.

When we entered, the room was much the same as it had been when we left. There was only one fundamental difference: there was a baby grand situated in the dead center of the room.

"What…?" I asked, staring at it.

"Well, now I can play for you up here," Edward said with a grin, settling himself on the bench.

"Walking down to the living room takes us a fraction of a second!" I argued.

"Well, maybe I don't want to waste a fraction of a second of the time I get to spend with you?" he asked.

"You have me _forever_," I countered, but with a smile.

"Yes, well let's hope so, love," he whispered quietly, and began to play a soft melody.

A chill raced through me, immune to temperatures though I was. I didn't need to ask what he meant by that; surely his thoughts took the same direction mine did. At this point, we didn't really know if we _had_ forever; we were only guaranteed about three weeks at the moment.

As he played, I wandered over to the bookshelf and grabbed my copy of _Pride and Prejudice_. I was in the mood to read something happy, so I flipped to the back; no need for all the beginning charades. I wanted to read about Jane (I shuddered at the thought of the counterpart who shared the character's name) and Mr. Bingley and Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy getting together at the end. I reflected on how Jane Austen (again with the name!) so often tore happy couples apart to piece them back together in the end. I hoped Edward and I would share one of these Austen endings, perhaps without the being torn apart in the middle. We had already suffered through that part, hadn't we? Fate couldn't possibly be cruel enough to tear us apart once more.

I found my page and plopped down onto the old loveseat in the corner and took up my reading. Edward was playing my lullaby in the background, and I couldn't imagine a more perfect place to be.

"I'm going to buy you a library," Edward said, spinning around to face me, yet never missing a beat in the melody. "You can't keep reading those same Jane Austen novels over and over."

"Show off," I mumbled. His skills at playing while distracted could put concert pianists and musical savants to shame. "They're not all Jane Austen."

"Oh, because Emily Bronte is so much better?" he asked with a laugh.

"Hey, we already had this conversation once before," I argued. "You already admitted to sympathizing with Heathcliff, you can't take that back!"

"Yes, well that was before," he said with a grin. "However, Heathcliff and I have found ourselves two very different endings. I no longer have to like him."

"You can't take it back now," I countered. "It's too late, you like Heathcliff… it's already out there."

"'Oh jeez. What are we supposed to do? Call the cops? It's already out there!'" Edward quoted mockingly (**A/N:** 10 points to anyone who understood this reference).

"You're ridiculous," I sighed, giving up, and returned to my book.

I read the same line ten times before I realized Edward's playing was much too distracting for me to focus. I sighed, closed my book, and watched him play. He turned and smiled at me once more before turning back to the piano. Suddenly, the melody changed quite abruptly, leading into a cadence. He rose, crossed the room, and settled down at my side. I realized the relocation was caused by Carlisle; I heard him push back from his chair in the office below, cross the room, open the door, and ascend the staircase. I wondered if Edward had been hearing everything Carlisle was thinking this whole time, but didn't ask.

"Come in," Edward called as Carlisle reached our door.

"I think I may have an answer," Carlisle began slowly, crossing to sit on one of the other nearby chairs. "It's just a theory of course," he assured me. "None of this is really an exact science."

"Your theory?" I asked hopefully.

"Well, Charlie came before Edward took you hunting for the first time, correct?" I nodded. "It is my understanding that perhaps, once you_ tasted_ blood, you lost your aversion to it."

I didn't really follow how this could work, and I gave him a quizzical look.

"You don't understand?" he asked. "Hmm… it's like, well, say there's a certain food that you don't like. Or you _think_ you don't like. It doesn't look all that appetizing to you, it doesn't really smell that good… but then someone convinces you to try a bite, and you find that you love it." Slowly, the meaning sunk in. "I think that you were so averse to blood before because it wasn't appetizing to you. Once you gave it a chance, you found that you really do like it, and in doing so, you created a positive association to the smell. When you came across the path of those men this morning, you remembered how blood _tasted_ based on the smell, and your instincts kicked in."

His explanation seemed to make sense. As he reminded me, it's not an exact science, so that might not be _the_ answer, but it was definitely a plausible one. Edward seemed to think so, too.

"Makes sense," he nodded in agreement. "We're just going to have to be more careful now."

Edward and I headed back to our room, but I was silent the whole way. "What's the matter, love?" he asked upon reaching our door and pulling me close.

"I thought it would be different," I explained. "I was so sure that if I had enough self-control, it wouldn't be a problem. I thought I was disciplined enough to not attack people."

"Oh Bella, love, it doesn't work that way," he whispered comfortingly, stroking my hair. "I'm sure Jasper can give you some tips, for one. We all can," he added hastily, correctly interpreting my horrified expression. Jasper _still_ had trouble, so, as much as I loved him, it was difficult to imagine his help being of much use. "But you know, Bella, he understands better than any of us what you're going through because it affected him so much worse." I had to admit that he had a point, and it _was_ slightly comforting. I wouldn't be the only one to struggle though this. "We'll figure it out," he promised, and led me into our room for some alone time.

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alrighty, review and let me know what you thought!


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty Two

**A/N:** omg I'm so sorry this took so long! I had a busy week, and I got a little stuck... this chapter is a little bit different than the others, but I still like it. **PLEASE** read and review, I'll try to get the next one up quicker, I swear! Oh, and the reference, no one got it which made me sad, but you'd have to looove the movie like I do - it was from When Harry Met Sally. Okay again, I love those reviews!

**Disclaimer**: I am not Stephenie Meyer, I don't own anything you recognize.

Chapter Twenty Two

The next few weeks flew by in a blur. It seemed that, between training, hunting, and strategizing, every spare moment was taken. Even with my heightened vampire senses, everything still got to be quite overwhelming. I often wondered if my former human self would've been able to handle it all, or if perhaps I wouldn't have even noticed the true depth of the situation.

With these training sessions, I felt myself improving, yet felt increasingly frustrated in the same moment; Jasper and Emmett were a great help, but Edward still had difficulties unleashing himself on me. The wolves were also extremely helpful, but I had to be more careful with them; a fierce blow couldn't do much damage to Emmett, but it was enough to shatter all of the bones within a foot-wide radius of where my fist made contact on one of the wolves. They healed quickly and were more than willing to help me train, but I didn't like having to restrain myself like that; that wasn't how it would be in battle. I shouldn't ever be holding back if I could help it.

Another thing that had me horribly frustrated was the fact that the wolves were only coming a few at a time, and still not offering their full services. It was completely justified, but it still felt like a personal blow each time they refused to show up with their full numbers. They were also extremely wary of me, since they were now aware of my reaction to humans. Carlisle had insisted that they be informed of every detail; he didn't want them offering their services without being completely aware of what was going on. As a result, they knew that I had tried to attack those fishermen we had come across, and they didn't completely trust me to be near them, regardless of my assurances that I wouldn't attack.

I was certain I wouldn't attack them because I had been "testing" myself, for lack of a better term, for a week now. Jasper, Emmett, Edward, and I would go out and find some hikers, or wander close to town, so I could pick up a scent. It seemed like a very reckless idea to me at first, but they kept me well restrained the entire time. I got a ride from Edward so that, if a scent caught me by surprise, it would be a little more difficult for me to pursue it alone. Between the three of them, they had more than enough strength to overpower me, even in my newborn state.

The whole experience was extremely painful for me to suffer through; I never knew that anything could be as painful as the burning sensation in my throat that came from the temptation of human blood. You would think, as accident-prone as I was as a human, that I would've had my fair share of pain, and be used to it by now, yet nothing could compare to the sensations I was feeling.

Slowly, over the course of a few days, it really felt like the pain was subsiding. I didn't believe that it could be done quite so quickly, yet it seemed that it was. Jasper explained that this might be a result of the approach we were taking; no one else had dared to expose themselves to such temptation so often as a newborn as I had. None of them had been able to have the proper restraints to allow for such actions. Emmett in particular had suffered for quite a long time before he could bear to be within a mile of humans. The thought of his strength as a _newborn_ and the attempt by anyone to restrain him made me shudder.

Through this slightly testy method I found that I could actually be rather comfortable around humans. It took about a week and a half of near-constant exposure, but I managed; any moment not spent training was spent experimenting in this way. Soon, I found that I could get within ten feet of a human and be okay. The wolves were willing to help me test this, but it was more of a challenge around real humans, so I seized that opportunity when I could. We would go near houses and bars late at night, when the idea of humans detecting our presence was laughable. I was still tightly restrained, but I was able to test myself thoroughly without putting anyone in harms way. I couldn't spend very long around humans, of course, but I was able to do it if I kept my breathing extremely shallow and my mind focused.

Over this time, friends began to arrive from all over the world. The Denali clan came down, the only other set of vegetarians that we were aware of, but many other normal friends appeared as well. I wished that I could recount their names, but the stress I was feeling was so great that training and testing myself took up every free moment; I learned the faces of these guests, and the homelands of each, but usually I could not associate a name with the face. Between Carlisle's and Jasper's connections, the numbers who came were astounding. I did recognize Peter and Charlotte from our wedding, and the dangerously gentle face of Maria from the South was difficult to forget. Our allies also included a few friends from England, one very suave man from France, a few from Spain, one from Italy, five from various South American locations, three from Asia, and three from Russia as well. This gave us twenty four vampire allies, a number that astounded us. We didn't know how many, if _any_ would be willing to fight beside us. Now, somehow, we managed twenty four, plus our own family of eight, and the wolves who were willing to give us five; Sam, Jacob, Paul, Quil, and Embry.

One day, as Edward and I sat in our room, relaxing, a thought occurred. I was sitting on my favorite loveseat while Edward serenaded me with my lullaby, but my mind was elsewhere.

"Edward?" I asked quietly, and he spun on the stool to face me, but kept playing.

"What's the matter, love?" he asked, spelling out a quiet yet intricate melody from the keys he had his back to.

"I was just wondering, well… there's something I've been thinking about." He eyed me quizzically, and I was so grateful for my inability to blush. "My um… human experience?"

"Oh," he mumbled, his eyes opening more widely with recognition. "But… you're not human anymore, love," he answered quietly.

"Oh I know," I sighed, "but I was still wondering whether… well, we haven't really… is that gonna happen?" I finished quickly, staring at the floor.

"Of course!" he replied, seeming shocked at the suggestion that we might not.

With the confirmation that I was finally going to be getting what I wanted, I rose from my seat and walked in what I hoped was an alluring manner toward the piano bench. At this move, he abruptly stopped playing, and his breath quickened. Wow, I was dazzling _Edward_, a feat I had never imagined to be possible. I sat beside him gently, and grabbed both his hands, entwining his fingers with mine. I leaned forward slowly, deliberately, and kissed him unbelievably softly. He responded enthusiastically at first, but then pulled away quickly. I sighed, rose from the bench, and seated myself quickly back on the loveseat, wrapping my arms around my knees.

"Bella, love," he soothed, rising as well and joining me on the loveseat. "Not like this, not right now," he insisted.

"Why not?" I didn't understand why this wasn't as good a time as any. I had waited quite long enough. "I married you first; I did the virtuous thing… why do I still have to wait?"

"Because," he insisted again, wrapping his arms tightly around me, "it will be _perfect_. I don't want it to happen now, to have it be rushed and anything else than sublime. We're going to do it right, when this is all over, and it will be even better than all your wildest fantasies could've imagined it to be, I promise."

"But, what if we don't…" I trailed off weakly, unable to voice the words. What if we weren't _together_ when it was over? What if it really _was_ over for one or both of us?

"We _will_," he insisted fiercely, pulling me in tighter. I leaned my head into his shoulder, and hoped he was right.

"Besides," Emmett called from the hallway, as he was passing by our door, "you won't be able to focus on your training if you're thinking about _that_," he laughed.

"Excuse me a moment," Edward said, rising and flying through the door. I heard a loud thud, and the sound of wood splintering, and then Edward rejoined me half a second later. "I'm going to have to replace that coffee table," Edward sighed, "but at least it wasn't an antique, or even one of Esme's favorites."

I couldn't help but laugh. "He's probably right, though," I said thoughtfully. "There's a good chance that, if it's as good as I imagine it will be, thinking about it will probably be extremely distracting."

Edward chuckled and planted a kiss on my forehead. "Oh, it will be," he promised.

Just then, Jasper appeared in the doorway. "The wolves are outside waiting," he explained, crossing the room to stand by us. "Are you ready for some more training?"

I nodded in agreement, and Edward and I rose and crossed to the window. This whole leaping down three stories to the ground this was beginning to grow on me, and it was actually my preferred method of getting to the ground floor. I only chose the stairs when it was raining out; not because I preferred to stay dry but rather I preferred not to ruin Esme's beautiful floors with water marks.

Edward, Jasper and I sprinted to our favorite clearing where we always went to train, and sure enough we found the wolves waiting. But wait, there were nine of them seated patiently awaiting our arrival. The only wolf missing was their fallen comrade.

"YES!" Edward cried, pumping his fist in the air. The gesture amazed me; it was far more childish a thing than I could've ever imagined him doing in my wildest dreams. "Sam's asked me to speak for him," Edward said quickly, "and they've agreed to _all_ help. All nine of them! Your self-control lately and the ability to keep yourself in check has lessened their concern about how much of a threat you could be!" he said excitedly. "Also, with thirty-two vampires in action, they're feeling significantly less threatened, and want to do whatever they can to help."

"This is amazing!" I cried, and without thinking sprinted toward Sam with the intention of hugging him. Edward caught me quickly around the waist as the wolves all backed up a few paces. "What?" I asked, confused at his restraint. "I was just going to give him a hug."

"Oh!" Edward laughed, but still held me tight. "Well, that's a lot less threatening than they thought, but still… if you hugged Sam right now, I'm pretty sure you'd involuntarily crush most of the bones in his body."

"Oh, yeah, you're probably right," I sighed, and stopped fidgeting. The wolves eyed each other warily for a moment before walking forward to their original positions, seeming to accept that I wouldn't be inflicting any damage. "This is wonderful," I breathed.

Sam nodded his head once at us, and then turned to leave, flanked by the rest of his pack.

"Wait!" I cried, confused. "Where are you going?"

"They had no intention to stay," Edward said simply, "they just wanted to pass along the news of their change of heart."

"Oh, okay," I replied. "Thank you."

Sam nodded once more, and then they all disappeared into the woods.

"Let's train!" I cried enthusiastically, my hope climbing higher and higher every moment.

Soon, we were having massive training sessions with all of the wolves, the Cullens, and our guests. The field was actually quite crowded, but Jasper insisted that the chaos would help us prepare for what the actual battle would be like. It was only two days away now, and everything was going fantastically. I was miraculously almost completely over my attraction to humans (well, I shouldn't say _over_ it… I was merely much more in control of it) and I actually felt like I might be able to hold my own in battle. It was an amazing feeling, to not think of myself as completely worthless. Edward insisted that I had already proven myself in the first battle, but I didn't count that; as far as I was concerned, that was merely luck, and if I was able to hold my own once more, then I'd consider_ that_ to be an accomplishment.

The next two days crept by. For once, I was anxious for the day to arrive; I felt that, by this point, I had learned all I could. The extra training was helpful, but it was like preparing a class presentation; you got to the point where no more practicing of your speech would help you… you _knew_ it, you just needed to get up there and deliver it already. Alice couldn't see any of what was to come and that made her nervous, but somehow, I wasn't afraid. The wolves were all on edge and excited, and rather than feel apprehensive about their lack of nerves, I joined them in the excitement.

Edward, on the other hand, was a complete mess. He spent those last two days at my side constantly, never letting me away from him for even a second. I think we were physically touching every single second of those two days. He pleaded with me on end for days to stay home and let the fight occur without me.

"Don't be ridiculous," I insisted one evening, lying across the large bed in the center of our room.

"It's not so ridiculous a notion," he said seriously.

"Yes, it is. For one, they are coming here to see _me_. Specifically. How will it look if I'm the only one _not_ there?" I asked.

"You'd be safe," he said quietly.

"They'd come looking for me after," I reminded him.

"There wouldn't _be_ an after for them," he growled a little too harshly.

"Edward," I said with a sigh, trying to figure out how to reason with him. Finally, I realized that being blunt was the best way to handle this. "I have to be there. That's not an option. You can't talk me out of being there." He sighed loudly and propped himself up on an elbow, ready to protest. "Wait," I insisted, holding a finger up. "If you're there, I'm there. Remember with Victoria? I wouldn't be able to make it, knowing you were fighting and I was sitting by, waiting to hear the outcome. I couldn't do it."

"But I can't bear having you _there_," he whispered, stroking my hair.

"You'll have to, because I'm not going anywhere," I said softly.

"Bella," he sighed, but lied back down, giving up on the argument. The fight would be _tomorrow_, and he could tell that there was nothing he could say at this point that would sway me.

"We'll both be okay, or we both won't," I said, trying to sound hopeful, "but either way, we're in this together."

He swallowed hard and nodded. "I just wish there were some other way…."

We stayed like that for hours, not moving or saying a word, just holding each other. Soon, the sun made its appearance over the tree line, and we couldn't deny it any longer: the time had come. As if in confirmation, Alice knocked lightly on our door before entering and announcing softly, "it's time."

Edward and I made our way silently down to the living room, hands gripped together tightly. Suddenly, the anxiety I _should've_ been feeling for days welled up all at once and threatened to consume me. I pulled Edward tightly to me and buried my head into his chest.

"It's okay," he soothed, rubbing my back and stroking my hair.

The rest of the room seemed to share my sentiments; everyone stood around in a tense grouping; no one spoke, but rather communicated silently as Edward and I did.

_I love you_, I thought to Edward, preferring not to speak aloud this once. He beamed down and me and held me close.

"We should get to the clearing," Jasper announced, an arm still holding Alice tightly to his side. The rest of the family mimicked our actions, as did the guests who had a significant other of sorts.

"The wolves will meet us there," Alice explained. "I can see everything clearly until a minute or so after we arrive in the field; that's where the future disappears."

"Well, let's go then," I called to the room, trying and failing to hide the shaking in my voice.

Emmett, Jasper, and Carlisle converged by the back door and sped out into the early morning sun. Rosalie, Esme, and Alice converged around Edward and I, and the five of us followed with our guests trailing close behind; flying off toward the sunrise to meet our fates.

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I hope you liked it! again, I'll try to get the next chapter up soon, it should be pretty exciting so hopefully it'll go quickly. REVIEW por favor!


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-Three

**A/N**: my SINCEREST apologies regarding how long it took me to post this chapter, but I do have a life and like, ya know, classes and stuff. And practicing is sort of essential, I don't do enough of that as it is. Also, this chapter was soo hard to write, and I didn't want to submit it until I was really pleased with it. I could've stood to work on it a bit more, if you ask me, but after a review this morning insisting that it's been two weeks and I'm long overdue, I finished it up and here it is. Again, so sorry I kept you waiting so long, but it is what it is. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, yes? Enjoy, and please review!

**Disclaimer**: Not Stephenie Meyer, don't own Twilight, the characters, or any of that jazz.

Chapter Twenty-Three

When we arrived in the clearing, there was a dark, ominous silence. No one spoke as we made straight for the dead center, gathering in a large cluster and strategically facing all directions. We didn't know which way they'd be coming from; as Alice's visions couldn't include the wolves, we were blind about any part of the event in which they were present. We didn't even know how it would happen, a slight disadvantage from the fight against Victoria's newborn army when she could at least be sure of which way they'd approach from before the wolves became involved.

As we waited, Edward held me tight as the rest of our "team" surrounded us on all sides. Alice, Esme, Carlisle, Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie formed a close circle around the two of us. Outside of that circle the rest of our guests spaced themselves strategically. We all waited in tense silence for a moment, until, almost exactly two minutes after we arrived, the wolves made their appearance, just as Alice had predicted.

Edward explained to them why we stood in the center of the clearing the way we did, and they positioned themselves accordingly, spaced evenly around the perimeter of our little grouping. It made me anxious to see them all standing unprotected around the outside; I think Jacob must've sensed my anxiety, because he alone ventured to the center of the grouping to come stand beside me.

_Thanks for being here, Jake_, I thought to him.

"He says it's his pleasure," Edward answered for him.

_Be _safe_, _I stressed, staring him down intently.

"Ditto," Edward replied.

We all stood in anxious silence for a few moments until suddenly, we heard the distinct approach of a large group of people from the east. Our group shifted as one large unit so that we stood against the trees that made up the west wall of the clearing. I was still in the center with Edward, but Jacob stepped forward in front of me protectively. The wolves all formed a front line of sorts, serving as a barrier between us and our impending visitors. It made me anxious and uncomfortable to see them standing there in the front.

Jasper began mumbling quiet instructions to us all that the guard had no hope of hearing, as they had not yet entered the clearing. "It's my belief that when they enter the clearing, they will intend to talk first. Don't be fooled by this display of civility. Make sure to keep an eye on anyone who is _not _talking. It's common that, when taking out an enemy, they present a false pretense of meaning no harm, and strike without warning, often in the middle of a sentence."

"How do you know this?" one of the South American friends asked, shocked.

"There's a, uh… _precedent,_ in my past," he explained rather cryptically. He was of course referring to the newborn battles of the south. He had been witness to more than one occasion where the guard had taken on a rebellious coven, though the circumstances had been very different from those we experienced now. Then, he had been a witness for the Volturi, watching them take care of threats that risked the exposure of this supernatural world. This time, he was one of the rebels. It made us slightly uneasy, wondering whether they'd remember that he had once stood on their side, and witnessed their techniques. Would they remember him and take a different approach, or would they strike in much the same way as the past, giving us a slight advantage?

We watched the east end of the clearing tensely as a huge group of vampires walked out of the woods. Strangely, they moved at a human pace, rather than running as we had expected of them. I counted bodies as they emerged from the trees… five… ten… fifteen… soon, they had all emerged and we found ourselves faced with thirty frightening vampires. They had us equally matched, thirty for thirty… we had the upper hand with our nine additional wolf aids. Perhaps they had somehow been aware of how many vampire allies we would have and planned accordingly?

However, it occurred to me that, if they had know that _thirty_ vampires would be standing against them, they surely would've brought three times as many vampires with them to make for quick and easy victory. No, they must've anticipated eight Cullens standing alone to face the onslaught. Of course, given that the Volturi came with one intention in mind, who could've foreseen that we would have so much help?

Aro, leading the way, looked utterly shocked given our numbers. For the first time, an expression other than boredom and disinterest crossed Marcus' face. His concern was clearly portrayed in his ancient features. Instantly, it was clear that they were not prepared to face the numbers that stood before them.

"Aro's stuck," Edward whispered to me quietly, loud enough for only our family and our allies to hear. At that same moment, the guard came to an abrupt and rather awkward stop.

_Stuck?_ I questioned mentally, afraid of speaking too loudly.

"Yeah," he answered in a whisper again. "Their plan was to come destroy the Cullens and only justify it with an excuse if it became necessary to do so later. Now he's not sure how to proceed. He thinks that if any of us survive, they'll have a problem, but they don't think their numbers can successfully take on all 39 of us. They're trying to figure out how to approach us now."

_What do you think they'll do?_ I asked him once more.

"It seems like they're trying to find some justified excuse to attack," he whispered.

_What have they got so far?_

"Nothing."

An unbearably long moment of silence followed. We stood tensely as Edward eavesdropped on their thoughts, just watching them whisper to each other.

"Aro wants to talk to you first," Edward said after a moment, and sure enough they began walking once more, closing the gap between our two parties. Instinctively, all 38 people around me moved in closer, closing any remaining gaps between bodies. Aro looked amused now, and I didn't think that could be a very good sign.

"Carlisle my old friend," he said in a clear voice, a mere 50 feet away now. "We meet again, and we are so fortunate that it could be so soon!"

"Aro," he said politely with a nod, stepping forward as if in representation of our group. They strode toward each other, and stopped about five feet apart. They both nodded their heads politely, but Carlisle kept his hands clasped tightly behind his back. I assumed that this was a gesture of warning to Aro, that Carlisle had no desire for him inside his head. I thought it was a bold move to make against Aro, but also figured Carlisle was probably one of the only vampires in existence who could get away with it.

"Such a group you've gathered," Aro said, eyeing our friends gathered all around us. "I take it this is more than just a social gathering? Surely it's not just a friendly meeting…"

"We're making sure _this_ stays a friendly meeting," Carlisle answered in response, with a gesture toward the guard gathering closely behind Aro.

"We just wanted to check on Bella," he said sweetly, smiling at me. "We gave her a bit of time to really adjust, and we wanted to see how she's coming along."

"All 30 of you?" Edward spat, a little too bitterly.

"Edward," Carlisle said warningly, holding up a hand to keep him in place.

"Yes, well it's a good thing we did, isn't it," he asked, eyes roving over all 39 of us carefully. "I daresay we'd have been seriously outnumbered had the three of us come alone. That would've been… _unfortunate_." The way he said the last word made me shudder internally.

Looking at Aro made me nervous, but I found myself unable to look away at the same time; I hoped the rest of my friends and family were keeping an eye on the others. I could sense infinitesimal movements all around me, and that answered my question; our friends were moving to compensate for the shifts taking place within the Volturi guard.

"So, Bella, come talk to me," Aro called in a friendly voice, waving me over. I turned to Edward who looked pain-stricken at the thought of me moving mere millimeters away from him.

_I'll be okay?_ I thought to him. Surely, if he had heard anything questionable, he would've stepped in front of me when Aro beckoned.

He nodded his head once, a move barely visible even to myself. I turned to Carlisle, who nodded encouragingly. I strode over and stood beside Carlisle; Edward and Jacob followed suit, the distance between the two of them and me never faltering more than a centimeter.

"Aro," I said as politely as possible, nodding my head. I fought to keep my voice from breaking, even on the one word.

"So Bella, dear," he said too conversationally to be sincere, given the circumstances, "how are things? Are you adjusting to your new lifestyle okay?"

"Everything is fine," I replied quietly.

"Well, that's good to hear," he smiled. Beside me, Edward growled quietly. "Now, now, Edward, no need to be hostile." He turned back to me. "Bella, I feel like this conversation might be more productive if we have it in a slightly friendlier environment."

Before I could answer, Jacob was nudging me backwards while Edward sank into a defensive stance and let out a low and terrifying growl.

"Easy," Aro said warningly to one of the guard. I realized the man had been poised to attack me a fraction of a second before Jacob had pushed me back. I shied away still further.

Suddenly, Marcus strode forward toward Aro purposefully, his hand raised. He had something to tell Aro?

"NO!" Edward cried, and lunged forward.

At that moment, pandemonium broke out in the field. Everyone on our side took Edward's cue, and charged forward, targeting a member of the guard. I was too terrified to move, watching everyone I knew and loved immersing themselves in the middle of a fierce battle where there could be no happy outcome. It wasn't rational to think either side could come out of this unscathed. Surely it would be a miracle if any of us survived at all.

After a moment frozen in time, I realized I had to _move_. I had to do something, _anything_ to help; I couldn't stand here and be a burden to Edward or anyone else; I needed to fight back.

A few feet away, Edward was fighting a large dark-haired man. I didn't want _anyone_ hurt, but I didn't think I could survive without Edward, so I chose to help him. He and the man were well matched, so I seized the moment when the man was focused hard on Edward and lunged on his back. Edward gasped, but recovered quickly and dove straight for the man's throat. I was so strong that I could easily hold him still while Edward finished him off. We moved swiftly through the field this way; Edward would lead the initial attack, and once the enemy was preoccupied, I would attack from behind. In a matter of minutes, Edward and I had successfully taken care of five of them.

It was clear that our side had a definite advantage, so I took a moment to look around and survey the damage. About a hundred yards away, Rosalie was fighting off two rather large men. I made to help her, but Emmett stepped in first, easily knocking one away with a chuckle. He was completely in his element, enjoying being able to fight without holding back, something he didn't get to do often.

I think I'm the only one who saw the third man come up from behind, but I was too far away, even with my inhuman strength and speed, to get there in time. I watched in horror and Emmett's face fell seconds before the three men tackled him to the ground. I froze in my tracks and had to look away as the men began to tear him apart.

"NOO!" Rosalie's scream resounded through the clearing. The three men rose and turned on her; I turned back to sprint to her aid, but she looked directly at me, her eyes like fire, and whispered, "No," warning me not to come any closer. She turned back on the men, and I caught a glimpse of the fury that her fiancé and his friends must've endured before their demise. For once, there was nothing beautiful about her mangled features as she began tearing the men apart.

In seconds, all three of them were finished, lying in ruins on the ground. Rosalie's face flashed with triumph for a moment before she disappeared from view behind two more, who sprang at her the instant they saw their comrades fall.

My mind went blank and I was instantly numb; this couldn't be real. Rosalie and Emmett, fallen? That's not the way it was supposed to happen. The Cullens and the wolves were supposed to be okay! I had served under the delusion that none of my loved ones would be hurt for so long that, now that I was proven false, I couldn't believe it to be true. Surely this was all an illusion, and Rose and Emmett would reappear any second now, Rose fiercely fighting and Emmett battling with a smile on his face.

But they didn't reappear.

I stood for seconds that felt like hours, maybe even years, unconscious of the battle raging around me, focusing only on what I'd lost.

I was called back to reality by Edward calling my name frantically. I turned at the sound of his voice in time to see Aro sprinting towards me. I had the split second advantage of Edward hearing Aro's plan in his head the second it formed, so I was able to turn before he seized me. However, I wasn't able to defend myself.

I tensed, ready to fight, but it wasn't necessary. I flinched, waiting for his arms to seize me, but suddenly, he wasn't there. Amazingly, Jacob had appeared out of nowhere and wrestled him to the ground. He managed to tear apart his limbs rather quickly, but then suddenly my world was ripped apart once more. Aro sank his sharp teeth into the nape of Jake's neck, and I knew there was no surviving that lethal blow. I turned my head away quickly, and saw Edward sprinting into action close behind. He took advantage of the moment when Aro was preoccupied, surveying his damage, and sunk in his teeth. In seconds, Edward had him completely ripped apart. He immediately set to burning the pieces, and thick purple smoke began to billow up in the crisp autumn air.

The battle came to a screeching halt. No one moved, it was literally like the scene before me had been paused. After a moment of eerie stillness, something happened that I couldn't believe.

Marcus and Caius _ran_.

They turned, wide-eyed, surveying the broken pieces of Aro that lay before them, and hastily bolted into the woods. The rest of the guard, taken aback at this change of events, followed closely behind. Seconds later, I turned to survey the damage.

I hoped to see the broken pieces of Emmett and Rosalie, hoping in vain that they might be pieced together again, but it seemed that the Volturi had been thorough, burning the pieces as soon as each person had fallen. I also hoped that Jake would jump up playfully and run to me; in the back of my mind, I hoped against hope that his injury was just a façade, and that any moment now he'd be rising and joining his brothers.

But he didn't rise.

It was impossible to determine who had fallen by what bodies lay on the ground, for there was indeed nothing left but ashes. Instead, I had to determine the fallen only by their absence from our gathering.

As I began ticking names off in my head, I counted what numbers we had lost; our animated friend from France, Maria, two of the South Americans, and all three of the Russians. Along with Emmett, Rosalie, and Jake, this made up ten.

_Ten_.

We had lost ten, but what had we _gained_? _We_ had survived, but was their loss worth the cost?

As if reading mine mind, Edward wrapped his arms around me and whispered in my ear, "We achieved _change_."

"I don't follow," I whispered back, confused.

"We took down Aro. That's huge. I don't see how the Volturi will continue to function as successfully as they have without him. It's a definite blow to their numbers; I daresay we did much more damage to them than they did to us."

"Do you think they'll replace him, and continue on?" I asked, looking up.

"I haven't the slightest," Edward admitted.

I looked around once more, needing to confirm once more in my own mind that it was _really_ over.

It was. Now, we just had to pick up the pieces.

--

I really hope you liked this chapter! Please don't just leave reviews of "zomg why did you kill ?!" ... I killed who I wanted to kill. As an author, that is my God given right and I defy you to try and take it away. That being said, I really do LOVE reviews, so please tell me what you liked! Chapter 24 will come sooner, I swear, I don't have ANY classes this coming Thursday and Friday, so with a four day weekend I can ALMOST guarantee it'll be up by Sunday knocks on wood ... but please don't kill me if it's not. **REVIEW!**


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Four

**A/N**: Once again, I'm sorry this chapter took so long. I really wanted it to be perfect, seeing as I think it's my final chapter. It wasn't intended to be until I was writing it, and I decided how to end it. I really hope you enjoy it, please review when you're done and give me some feedback. Also, I definitely intend to write more stories, so feedback of what you want to see next is GREATLY appreciated - I don't have anything in mind yet, so if you have some idea, by all means review on here or shoot me an email or something, I really wanna write some more so give me some ideas! haha, that being said, here's my final chapter of Breaking Dawn, My Way. **Enjoy**.

**Disclaimer:** Not Stephenie Meyer, don't own Twilight or any of it's characters.

Chapter Twenty-Four

All of the wolves looked to be in pretty bad shape. Jacob was the only casualty, but they were all down on the ground, injured. Carlisle ran wolf to wolf, setting bones as quickly as possible before they had a chance to heal incorrectly. He was thoroughly occupied, but I had too much to think about and nothing to do.

I panicked. It was a good thing that my body no longer required oxygen, because I would've otherwise passed out from hyperventilating. I found it difficult to stand, and crumpled to the ground; Edward lowered himself beside me and wrapped his arms around me.

"It's over," he soothed, rubbing my arm, "you're safe, you have nothing to worry about."

"Yeah, I'm fine," I gasped, "but the others… they're not fine."

"Bella, love," he began, but I cut him off.

"It's my fault. All my fault. If it weren't for me, they'd still be alive. Rose, and, and Emmett," I choked out, "and… and…J….Ja…." My dry sobs drowned everything else out, and I couldn't even articulate his name.

"Jacob," Edward tried to speak again, but I shook my head.

"No. No no no no no."

"Bella," said a stronger, deeper voice from beside me. I looked up to see Sam standing there, his left arm holding his right elbow tightly. It looked like he had somehow injured his shoulder, and was holding his arm steady so that it wouldn't jostle anything.

"Sam, are you alright?" I asked quietly.

"Yes, I'll be okay," he assured me. "I broke my collar bone, but it should be fully healed shortly. But that's not what I wanted to talk about. I want to talk about Jacob."

My air caught in my throat again, and I had to look away. I couldn't look Sam in the eye as he told me how it was my fault that Jake had died. I couldn't stand to see the pain in his eyes that _my_ problems had caused. I cost him a brother, a friend, a pack member… I had taken something away from them all, and it was something I could never replace.

"Bella," he said softly, sitting lightly on the ground beside me, "It's not your fault."

"How can you say that?" I protested. "If it weren't for me, none of you would've been here; no one would've died…"

"We saw his thoughts as clearly as he did, if not more so," Sam said simply.

"More so?" I asked. I didn't understand how Sam thought he could see Jacob's thoughts more clearly than he did.

"When we see into his mind, we watch the situation from his point of view, of course, but as we are removed from the situation, we can see it much more clearly than he could. We understand better. Given this, we know that he never wanted to live without you, and every day grew worse for him from the moment you changed."

I cringed. I made Jacob's life worse just by being a part of it. And now I was responsible for his death.

"You still don't understand," Sam said softly, staring at me thoughtfully. "Jacob loved you, with all of his heart. It pained him to see you change, but it didn't make him _love_ you any less. He didn't want to live in a world where you didn't exist, and leaving this way was perfect for him."

"Leaving?" I asked.

"Yes, we believe that life on Earth is only one small part of a much bigger picture. Jacob has left this Earth, but I'm certain that he's now somewhere much, much better."

"So why was leaving perfect for him?"

"I can't imagine that Jacob could've seen a better way for himself to go than to do it protecting you. His final sacrifice on this Earth was to save you from harm, and he didn't want it any other way."

"It's true," Edward said quietly, rubbing my arm. "I could see that fleeting thought just as clearly as Sam could."

It was slightly comforting to hear that these circumstances were exactly what Jacob would've hoped for in leaving. However, I still would've preferred that he not have to leave at all. I thought about him for a few minutes, and what kind of "better place" he might be in now. I imagined there must at least be a giant garage full of sodas and broken engines for him to work on. It was a cheesy thought, but still comforted me.

Alice, Jasper, Esme, and Carlisle all came to surround us where we sat on the ground. Seeing them all standing there reminded me of who was not. Who would not ever stand among us again. Rosalie, Emmett… what had I done? Guilt came rushing back so strong that I thought for sure it would pull me under once more.

"I… I killed them," I whispered quietly, horrified, under my breath.

"Oh Bella, no," Carlisle said, shocked.

"If it weren't for me… if I didn't…" the dry sobs continued to come, and it was an awkward feeling; for the first time in my life, I really _needed_ to cry, and ironically no tears would come. I finally understood, too late, why Edward had been so hesitant to change me; this was something I never could've seen coming, but could only experience. I couldn't cry, couldn't forget… this pain couldn't possibly fade with time. And time… it was now infinite for me. I literally had an eternity to experience this pain; I couldn't imagine it ever going away. Every sharp detail of this day would stick with me forever, regardless of whether years, decades, or centuries passed, I was certain of that. The memory of seeing my friends fall would surely stick clearly in my mind for centuries.

"Did you know?" Esme asked Alice quietly.

"That they would…?" she trailed off, implying the words she couldn't say. Esme nodded. "Well, I saw the future without them, yes," Alice admitted. "But because the wolves were here, I couldn't see them… go. I couldn't be sure that they didn't just leave us for a while… I just didn't see them _here_."

We were all silent for a moment as everything sunk in. Would we ever recover from this blow? I didn't know how Edward could ever forgive me for costing him two members of his family. It didn't make sense for him to sit here, arms wrapped around me, comforting me. I should be on my knees apologizing, begging him for forgiveness, not sobbing in his arms. I had spent so much time insisting that I not cry over Jake anymore, not hurt Edward anymore, yet here I was, Jake gone, and still forcing Edward to comfort me as I cried.

"I'm sorry, so, so sorry," I whispered into his shoulder, unable to look up and see the sad faces I had caused.

"Well," said Jasper's voice after a moment, "I can't think of a better way Emmett could've gone."

This caught me off guard. Where was the sadness? I didn't hear it in his voice. I looked up at him in surprise.

"What?" I asked, incredulous.

"Well, he was always a fighter," Jasper reasoned, and Edward and Carlisle both nodded in agreement. "And he cared about you more than he was willing to admit," he added with a chuckle.

"He didn't mind protecting you," Carlisle added, reading correctly my horrified expression at the thought that his feelings toward me had cost him his life. "He would've insisted on it, in fact," he said thoughtfully.

"It's true," Edward said. "He would've died to protect any of us, no questions asked, _no matter what_ the cause."

"It's not your fault," Carlisle said gently. "You can't shoulder the blame for this. It's too much for _anyone_, let alone someone who shouldn't be feeling _any_ guilt."

I sighed, and tried my best to breathe normally. Maybe they were right. I mean, it was my fault that the Volturi were here, but I didn't ask them to come. I would've gone to _them_ instead, given the chance but they came here.

"And Rose?" I asked gently, hoping for more words of comfort to abate the guilt.

"She was getting restless," Jasper said, and everyone nodded in agreement.

"What?" I asked incredulous once more.

"It was no secret that she wanted to be human more than anything. She didn't _want_ to live forever. Every time her life hit that point where she had to start over, begin high school again, she grew more restless. She wanted to keep going… get married, have children, grow old. She couldn't stand to be constantly starting over. I could sense that something was going to happen soon; her mood was never as bad as it's been these past few years."

"I don't know that _dying_ was the solution she had in mind," I whispered.

"She went with Emmett," Edward said simply. "He died to save her, and she in turn avenged him before dying herself. They went together."

"And they're in a better place, like Jacob," Carlisle added, "I'm sure of it."

"Hopefully they're not together though," Alice said wrinkling her nose. "Rose wasn't Jake's biggest fan."

I chuckled, and thought back on my memories of them. My time in Forks hadn't actually been that long, in retrospect, but the memories here were sharper, so much more defined, than those in Phoenix. The bonds forged with Emmett and Jake in particular, though I'd really only known them a year or two, were so much stronger than any that preceded them in Arizona. And Edward… our time together wasn't all that substantial, but I couldn't imagine caring about anyone more. Emmett, Rosalie, and Jacob were like a fierce storm… they blew in quickly, did their damage, and left in a hurry, but the amount of time they spent didn't matter. They left me forever changed.

Finally, it was time to move. We rose to our feet, and began walking from the clearing. We had picked up what pieces we could, and now it was time to move on. Edward gripped my hand, but it was no longer that frantic, worried grip. He held me loosely, realizing nothing would ever take me away.

"I love you," I whispered, smiling up at him.

"I love you more," he said, flashing me my favorite crooked grin.

Suddenly, everything changed in an instant. Something clicked in my brain, and I realized I'd be okay. They were gone, but I'd go on. I had Edward, and he was all I really needed. Whether floods, plagues, fires or famines struck, as long as Edward stood beside me and held my hand, I would be fine. Edward made me whole. In the end, as long as I had him, life would go on. I could survive.

As long as I had Edward, I would be complete.

**The End.**

**--**

Well, I really hope you've enjoyed my story! I wrote my final paragraph, and realized that it needed to end right there. I suppose I could write an epilogue if there is a seriously high demand for it, but I think the story is better ended this way. Maybe a sequel will follow? Who knows. Anyway, pleeeeeeeeeeeeease review, they make my day SOO happy when I get review alert emails! And once again, tell me what you want to see in future stories!!

Thanks for sticking with me for so long, and I really hope this story was everything you expected it to be. 3


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